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Creating the next generation of highly detailed human brain models by building on the BigBrain - the first openly accessible, microscopic resolution 3D model of the human brain.

News About the BigBrain

DIY BigBrain 3D Print Files
date: Mar 18 2026
While BigBrain is usually explored on a computer screen, it can also be brought into the physical world using 3D printing. Click on the link to access the files needed for a 3D printer.
Download site
Save the date: BigBrain Workshop 2026
date: Feb 19 2026
We are pleased to announce that the BigBrain Workshop will happen this year in Montreal from October 20 - 22.
Go to event page
BigBrain anatomy for beginners by Nicola Palomero-Gallagher
date: Feb 16 2026
Revisit the Winter School 2021 introductory course. The goal of this course is to familiarize scientists with no, or only very little, knowledge about brain anatomy with major brain structures and their functions.
Go to Youtube
New Paper: AI Creates Virtual Stainings of Brain Tissue
date: Feb 11 2026
Alexander Oberstraß and the team at FZJ/INM-1 present a new method to visualise the fine structure of the brain without elaborate laboratory procedures. With the help of AI, they can now virtually show how nerve cells are distributed and how they connect with nerve fibres. The study was published in Imaging Neuroscience.
Press release
Paper
BigBrain Workshop Videos 2025
date: Dec 1, 2025
The 9th BigBrain Workshop took place in Berlin, Germany. The conference started with a training day on Oct 27th, and the main events happening on the 28th and 29th. Click below to see the full conference videos.
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Casey Paquola receives Early Excellence in Science Award
date: Nov 3, 2025
Dr Casey Paquola has been honoured with the Early Excellence in Science Award by the Bayer Foundation.
read more
Women in Science Award for Casey Paquola
date: Sept 19, 2025
Congratulations to Casey on receiving the prestigious For Women in Science Award, presented by L’Oréal together with the German UNESCO Commission and the German Humboldt Network.
read more
Featured Video from 8th BigBrain Workshop 2024
date: Sept 15, 2025
This video features "EEG Simulation through Integration of Structural Connectivity Data and High-Density Surface Meshes in Brain Region-Specific Network Models" by Alejandro Salinas-Medina.
watch video
HIBALL team at OHBM 2025
date: July 14, 2025
The HIBALL team met at OHBM 2025 in Brisbane and presented the BigBrain together with the Julich Brain Atlas
go to HBM site

About the BigBrain

Full dataset over 1TB

Scans at 20μm resolution

Multiple formats

An expanding brain atlas

A thriving community

What People Say About the BigBrain

Why create the BigBrain

A message from Dr. Zilles

the major advantage of the BigBrain for our work is that the image data of the human brain are registered as a 3D volume at very high spatial resolution. Since the human brain is folded, any part of the cortical ribbon may be subjected to the geometrical effects of this folding, i.e. the cortex is obliquely or even tangentially sectioned at various sites in a 2D representation, e.g. in images of single microtome sections. This effect hampers the measurement of any cortical structure which is bound to the 3D columnar architecture of the cortex. In contrast, the BigBrain allows analyses in 3D, and thus has opened the door to many studies which would not be possible in 2D representations.

Martha Crago

Vice-Principal (Research + Innovation) McGill University

With HIBALL the partnership between two world-leading research institutions in computational neuroscience will provide an important platform for the scientists to conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, and complementary research in a rich and collaborative setting.

Yoshua Bengio

Mila Scientific Director, Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute

HIBALL assembles a team with world-leading expertise in neuroimaging, artificial intelligence, neuroscience and neuroinformatics, which complements well the team at Mila. The active participation of several PIs with ties to Mila is very exciting, and we anticipate this lab will further expand the collaboration between neuroscience and AI experts in the Montreal ecosystem, leading to cutting-edge discoveries in both fields.

Viktor Jirsa

Directeur de Recherche, CNRS

HIBALL can build on a remarkable expertise and international reputation and will lead to high impact contributions in Human Brain Atlasing, Neuroinformatics, and Machine Learning.