Synaptic Connectivity in Anatomically Realistic Neural Networks: Modeling and Visual Analysis

The structural organization of neural circuitry is an important determinant of brain function. Thus, knowing the brain’s wiring (the connectome) is key to understanding how it works. For example, understanding how sensory information is translated into behavior requires a comprehensive view of the microcircuits performing this translation at the level of individual neurons and synapses. Obtaining a wiring diagram, however, is nontrivial due to size, complexity and accessibility of the involved brain regions. Even when such data were available, it were difficult to analyze. Here we describe how a network of ∼0.5 million neurons and their synaptic connections, representing the vibrissal area of the rat primary somatosensory cortex, can be reconstructed. Furthermore, we present a framework for visual exploration of synaptic connectivity between (groups of) neurons within this model. It includes, first, the Cortical Column Connectivity Viewer (CCCV) that provides a hybrid abstract/spatial representation of the connections between neurons of different cell types and/or in different cortical columns. Second, it comprises a 3D view of cell type-specific synapse positions on selected morphologies. This framework is thus an effective tool to visually explore structural organization principles at the population, individual neuron and synapse levels.

[1]  Roman Borisyuk,et al.  Modeling the Connectome of a Simple Spinal Cord , 2011, Front. Neuroinform..

[2]  David H. Laidlaw,et al.  Exploring Brain Connectivity with Two-Dimensional Neural Maps , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[3]  Sheng-Chuan Wang,et al.  The Neuron Navigator: Exploring the information pathway through the neural maze , 2011, 2011 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium.

[4]  G. A. Ascoli,et al.  Non-homogeneous stereological properties of the rat hippocampus from high-resolution 3D serial reconstruction of thin histological sections , 2012, Neuroscience.

[5]  B. Sakmann,et al.  Three-dimensional axon morphologies of individual layer 5 neurons indicate cell type-specific intracortical pathways for whisker motion and touch , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[6]  Cpj de Kock,et al.  Reconstruction of an average cortical column in silico , 2007, Brain Research Reviews.

[7]  Olaf Sporns,et al.  The Human Connectome: A Structural Description of the Human Brain , 2005, PLoS Comput. Biol..

[8]  O. Sporns,et al.  Mapping the Structural Core of Human Cerebral Cortex , 2008, PLoS biology.

[9]  A. Peters.  Thalamic input to the cerebral cortex , 1979, Trends in Neurosciences.

[10]  Charl P. Botha,et al.  Visualization in Connectomics , 2012, Scientific Visualization.

[11]  Guido Gerig,et al.  Patient-Tailored Connectomics Visualization for the Assessment of White Matter Atrophy in Traumatic Brain Injury , 2011, Front. Neur..

[12]  Bert Sakmann,et al.  Dendritic coding of multiple sensory inputs in single cortical neurons in vivo , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[13]  Marcus Kaiser,et al.  A tutorial in connectome analysis: Topological and spatial features of brain networks , 2011, NeuroImage.

[14]  Moritz Helmstaedter,et al.  3D Reconstruction and Standardization of the Rat Vibrissal Cortex for Precise Registration of Single Neuron Morphology , 2012, PLoS Comput. Biol..

[15]  Bert Sakmann,et al.  Sensory integration across space and in time for decision making in the somatosensory system of rodents , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  Damian J. Wallace,et al.  Sensory Experience Alters Specific Branches of Individual Corticocortical Axons during Development , 2009, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[17]  Stefan Lang,et al.  Simulation of signal flow in 3D reconstructions of an anatomically realistic neural network in rat vibrissal cortex , 2011, Neural Networks.

[18]  Danielle S. Bassett,et al.  Conserved and variable architecture of human white matter connectivity , 2011, NeuroImage.

[19]  Yang Wang,et al.  Pattern Visualization of Human Connectome Data , 2012, EuroVis.

[20]  H. S. Meyer,et al.  Number and Laminar Distribution of Neurons in a Thalamocortical Projection Column of Rat Vibrissal Cortex , 2010, Cerebral cortex.

[21]  Olaf Sporns,et al.  MR connectomics: Principles and challenges , 2010, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[22]  Steffen Prohaska,et al.  Large-Scale Automated Histology in the Pursuit of Connectomes , 2011, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[23]  H. S. Meyer,et al.  Cell Type–Specific Three-Dimensional Structure of Thalamocortical Circuits in a Column of Rat Vibrissal Cortex , 2011, Cerebral cortex.

[24]  Jean-Philippe Thiran,et al.  The Connectome Viewer Toolkit: An Open Source Framework to Manage, Analyze, and Visualize Connectomes , 2011, Front. Neuroinform..