LIBD BRAIN REPOSITORY

The LIBD brain repository is the largest collection of postmortem human brains for the study of neuropsychiatric disorders in the world.

To successfully achieve our mission of developing the next generation of treatments, we must first understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to illness that can only be realized through studying the brain itself.

5,000+ Human postmortem brains

Brains are donated to the repository by next of kin, and the samples come with confirmed diagnoses from a spectrum of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, depression and anxiety disorders. The repository also includes tissue from neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease; traumatic brain disorders, suicide victims, and healthy individuals across the human lifespan. Notably, the Institute has assembled the biggest collection of human postmortem brains with PTSD in the world. This unique asset helped to solidify the Institute as the Veteran’s Administration’s most critical provider of tissue for the study of PTSD. We have established collection sites in North Dakota, Michigan and California, in addition to our home site in Maryland.

Learn more about our Molecular Neuropathology team and their work to advance the mission of the Institute through the study of postmortem human brain tissue.