Portrait of a Purkinje cell
Hannah Warming
The Science
This embroidery shows a Purkinje cell, a type of brain cell controlling learning and movement. They can be found in the cerebellum, a region at the base of the brain which connects to the spinal cord. Purkinje cells are tiny, with the cell body measuring just 0.08mm across - you would only see the cells as they look in the photo using a high resolution microscope, and discover their beautiful intricate nets of dendrites, the "branches" that receive information from surrounding cells. The texture of the threads captures the fiber-like nature of the cell's features, with more than 8 meters of thread condensed into just 6 inches of fabric. Purkinje dendrites are so complex that they can communicate with hundreds of thousands of cells at once, integrating these many signals to enable high control over our movement - my Purkinje cells helped to fine-tune my hand movements to create this piece!
The Artist
Hannah is a PhD student in the U.K. studying stroke and dementia. She uses electrophysiology in the lab, a technique used to detect electrical signals from single cells using miniscule electrodes. These signals represent activity and communication between cells in the brain, allowing us to measure brain function during diseases such as stroke. Hannah creates embroideries to celebrate science, especially neuroscience, in her free time whilst raising money for Alzheimer's Research. You can connect with her on Twitter @Needlesneurons or on Instagram @needlesandneurons.
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license