Connectionists: A multiscale perspective of the BRAIN Initiative

[Chi-Sang Poon]

An upcoming paper titled "Multiscale fingerprinting of neuronal functional
connectivity" in the journal Brain Structure and Function (in press) is
available in MIT's open access collection:
https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/88126

 

SUMMARY.  Current cellular-based connectomics approaches aim to delineate
the functional or structural organizations of mammalian brain circuits
through neuronal activity mapping and/or axonal tracing. To discern possible
connectivity between functionally identified neurons in widely distributed
brain circuits, reliable and efficient network-based approaches of
cross-registering or cross-correlating such functional-structural data are
essential. Here, a novel cross-correlation approach that exploits multiple
timing-specific, response-specific and cell-specific neuronal
characteristics as coincident fingerprint markers at the systems, network
and cellular levels is proposed.  Application of this multiscale
temporal-cellular coincident fingerprinting assay to the respiratory central
pattern generator network in rats revealed a descending excitatory pathway
with characteristic activity pattern and projecting from a distinct neuronal
population in pons to its counterparts in medulla that control the
post-inspiratory phase of the respiratory rhythm important for normal
breathing, airway protection and respiratory-vocalization coordination. This
enabling neurotracing approach may prove valuable for functional
connectivity mapping of other brain circuits.

 

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