A Proposal for a Coordinated Effort for the Determination of Brainwide Neuroanatomical Connectivity in Model Organisms at a Mesoscopic Scale: e1000334

In this era of complete genomes, our knowledge of neuroanatomical circuitry remains surprisingly sparse. Such knowledge is critical, however, for both basic and clinical research into brain function. Here we advocate for a concerted effort to fill this gap, through systematic, experimental mapping o...

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Published in:PLoS computational biology 2009-03, Vol.5 (3)
Main Authors: Bohland, Jason W, Wu, Caizhi, Barbas, Helen, Bokil, Hemant, Bota, Mihail, Breiter, Hans C, Cline, Hollis T, Doyle, John C, Freed, Peter J, Greenspan, Ralph J, Haber, Suzanne N, Hawrylycz, Michael, Herrera, Daniel G, Hilgetag, Claus C, Huang, Z Josh, Jones, Allan, Jones, Edward G, Karten, Harvey J, Kleinfeld, David, Kötter, Rolf, Lester, Henry A, Lin, John M, Mensh, Brett D, Mikula, Shawn, Panksepp, Jaak, Price, Joseph L, Safdieh, Joseph, Saper, Clifford B, Schiff, Nicholas D, Schmahmann, Jeremy D, Stillman, Bruce W, Svoboda, Karel, Swanson, Larry W, Toga, Arthur W, Essen, David CVan, Watson, James D, Mitra, Partha P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical research
Brain
Brain research
Cost estimates
Genomes
Meetings
Neurosciences
Organisms
Studies
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Summary:In this era of complete genomes, our knowledge of neuroanatomical circuitry remains surprisingly sparse. Such knowledge is critical, however, for both basic and clinical research into brain function. Here we advocate for a concerted effort to fill this gap, through systematic, experimental mapping of neural circuits at a mesoscopic scale of resolution suitable for comprehensive, brainwide coverage, using injections of tracers or viral vectors. We detail the scientific and medical rationale and briefly review existing knowledge and experimental techniques. We define a set of desiderata, including brainwide coverage; validated and extensible experimental techniques suitable for standardization and automation; centralized, open-access data repository; compatibility with existing resources; and tractability with current informatics technology. We discuss a hypothetical but tractable plan for mouse, additional efforts for the macaque, and technique development for human. We estimate that the mouse connectivity project could be completed within five years with a comparatively modest budget.
ISSN:1553-734X
1553-7358
DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000334