Connectomics

Summary

Connectomics is the production and study of connectomes: comprehensive maps of connections within an organism's nervous system. More generally, it can be thought of as the study of neuronal wiring diagrams with a focus on how structural connectivity, individual synapses, cellular morphology, and cellular ultrastructure contribute to the make up of a network. The nervous system is a network made of billions of connections and these connections are responsible for our thoughts, emotions, actions, memories, function and dysfunction. Therefore, the study of connectomics aims to advance our understanding of mental health and cognition by understanding how cells in the nervous system are connected and communicate. Because these structures are extremely complex, methods within this field use a high-throughput application of functional and structural neural imaging, most commonly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electron microscopy, and histological techniques in order to increase the speed,

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectomics

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A connectome (kəˈnɛktoʊm) is a comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain, and may be thought of as its "wiring diagram". An organism's nervous system is made up o

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A null model of the mouse whole-neocortex micro-connectome

Huanxiang Lu, Henry Markram, Eilif Benjamin Muller, Michael Reimann, Ying Shi

In connectomics, the study of the network structure of connected neurons, great advances are being made on two different scales: that of macro- and meso-scale connectomics, studying the connectivity between populations of neurons, and that of micro-scale connectomics, studying connectivity between individual neurons. We combine these two complementary views of connectomics to build a first draft statistical model of the micro-connectome of a whole mouse neocortex based on available data on region-to-region connectivity and individual whole-brain axon reconstructions. This process reveals a targeting principle that allows us to predict the innervation logic of individual axons from meso-scale data. The resulting connectome recreates biological trends of targeting on all scales and predicts that an established principle of scale invariant topological organization of connectivity can be extended down to the level of individual neurons. It can serve as a powerful null model and as a substrate for whole-brain simulations.

2019

Cortical and thalamic connectivity of temporal visual cortical areas 20a and 20b of the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Giorgio Innocenti

The present study describes the ipsilateral and contralateral corticocortical and corticothalamic connectivity of the temporal visual areas 20a and 20b in the ferret using standard anatomical tract-tracing methods. The two temporal visual areas are strongly interconnected, but area 20a is primarily connected to the occipital visual areas, whereas area 20b maintains more widespread connections with the occipital, parietal and suprasylvian visual areas and the secondary auditory cortex. The callosal connectivity, although homotopic, consists mainly of very weak anterograde labeling which was more widespread in area 20a than area 20b. Although areas 20a and 20b are well connected with the visual dorsal thalamus, the injection into area 20a resulted in more anterograde label, whereas more retrograde label was observed in the visual thalamus following the injection into area 20b. Most interestingly, comparisons to previous connectional studies of cat areas 20a and 20b reveal a common pattern of connectivity of the temporal visual cortex in carnivores, where the posterior parietal cortex and the central temporal region (PMLS) provide network points required for dorsal and ventral stream interaction enroute to integration in the prefrontal cortex. This pattern of network connectivity is not dissimilar to that observed in primates, which highlights the ferret as a useful animal model to understand visual sensory integration between the dorsal and ventral streams. The data generated will also contribute to a connectomics database, to facilitate cross species analysis of brain connectomes and wiring principles of the brain.

2019

Cortical and thalamic connectivity of posterior parietal visual cortical areas PPc and PPr of the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Giorgio Innocenti

The present study describes the ipsilateral and contralateral cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic connectivity of the parietal visual areas, posterior parietal caudal cortical area (PPc) and posterior parietal rostral cortical area (PPr), in the ferret using standard anatomical tract-tracing methods. The two divisions of posterior parietal cortex of the ferret are strongly interconnected, however area PPc shows stronger connectivity with the occipital and suprasylvian visual cortex, while area PPr shows stronger connectivity with the somatomotor cortex, reflecting the functional specificity of these two areas. This pattern of connectivity is mirrored in the contralateral callosal connections. In addition, PPc and PPr are connected with the visual and somatomotor nuclei of the dorsal thalamus. Numerous connectional similarities exist between the posterior parietal cortex of the ferret (PPc and PPr) and the cat (area 7 and 5), indicative of the homology of these areas within the Carnivora. These findings highlight the existence of a frontoparietal network as a shared feature of the organization of parietal cortex across Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatherians, with the degree of expression varying in relation to the expansion and areal complexity of the posterior parietal cortex. This observation indicates that the ferret is a potentially valuable experimental model animal for understanding the evolution and function of the posterior parietal cortex and the frontoparietal network across mammals. The data generated will also contribute to a connectomics database, to further cross-species analyses of connectomes and illuminate wiring principles of cortical connectivity across mammals.

2019