Sparse reconstruction of brain circuits: Or, how to survive without a microscopic connectome (original) (raw)

“…Such partial or complete precise wiring diagrams have been termed a “connectome” (Sporns et al, 2005; Jarrell et al, 2013; Sporns, 2013). Given the massive numbers and morpho-functional diversity of neurons, as well as 3D intricacy and submicron size of their connections, and the fact that axons often extend to remote brain or body regions, the technical challenges involved in tracing connectomes with cellular resolution are staggering (de Costa and Martin, 2013). In fact, the only complete connectome produced to date is that of the small worm Caenorhabditis elegans , which has just 302 neurons of 118 morpho-functional types, which form about 5000 synapses between them.…”