The brain is like an ecosystem—thousands of different types of cells connect to form one big, interdependent web . And just as biologists document species of plants and animals, neuroscientists have spent decades identifying different “species” of neurons and other brain cells that support them. They’ve found more than 3,000 cell types spread throughout the brain , including chandelier neurons surrounded by branching arms, pyramidal neurons with far-reaching nerve fibers and star-shaped astrocytes that help neurons form new connections with one another.

This newfound diversity is not only a beautiful picture for neuroscientists—it’s also key to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in certain brain diseases. From Parkinson’s disease to schizophrenia , many brain di

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