Abstract
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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Acknowledgments
We thank Drs. J. Champagnat, G. Fortin, P.G. Guyenet, and D. Richter for valuable comments on an early version of the manuscript. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants HL067966 and HL093225.
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Song, G., Tin, C. & Poon, CS. Multiscale fingerprinting of neuronal functional connectivity. Brain Struct Funct 220, 2967–2982 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0838-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0838-1