Watch a Neuroscientist Slice a Human Brain into Slivers

It's fascinating what you can tell about a person just by looking at the brain.

Externally, you’d think that human brains would look relatively similar — a bunch of folds here and there, some gray and white matter, some brain membrane. However, to a neuroscientist, each brain tells a different story. Before even dissecting the complex organ, researchers can determine various medical conditions and even lifestyle choices just by looking at the brain’s exterior.

For instance, observing the membranes that cover the brain can show a scientist any evidence of infection, while the blood vessels at the base of the brain give clues about the lifestyle factors. Was the individual a smoker? Did he or she have a high fat diet and/or a lack of exercise? You might think these factors would only be apparent from an individual’s lungs, limbs, or abdomen, but just by looking at the exterior of the brain, a neuroscientist can determine these key aspects of an individual’s lifestyle within seconds.

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Next, the researcher cuts through the brainstem (a small but important part of the brain that carries out the everyday functions we rely on) to detach it, along with the cerebellum, from the rest of the brain. Then, without further ado, the neuroscientist slices right through the entire brain, cutting it into two chunks.

Using a special guiding tool, the researchers cut the brain into half centimeter slivers, and lay the slices out in a logical fashion to check for any pathologies. Steve Gentleman, the professor of neuropathology at Imperial College London, says he’s studied brains for about 25 years and has dissected over 1,000 brains.

“The convolutions of the brain are a little bit like a fingerprint. They’re unique to the individual,” Gentleman says in the video. “Obviously they have a very similar general structure, but there are subtleties. We’re all slightly different in our development, so no two brains are the same.”

Watch as Gentleman performs the fascinating human brain dissection: