The inferior colliculus is a brain structure responsible for hearing. It combines different kinds of information about sound from various regions of the brain and relay them to the thalamus and then the cerebral cortex, where conscious perception of sound occurs. This image shows the many cell types in the inferior colliculus, identified by three different molecular markers rendered in the three primary colours of human vision (red, green, blue). Various ratios of the markers make each neuron appear with a distinct hue, hinting at their (yet poorly understood) disparity in function. Inferior colliculus got its name (Latin: lower hill) because it appears as a small bump below the superior colliculus in the human brain.

Dr Lam is conducting postdoctoral research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.