Neural Networks of the Mouse Neocortex

Abstract

SUMMARY Numerous studies have examined the neuronal inputs and/or outputs of many areas of the brain cortex, but how these areas organize into broader communication networks across the cortex is unclear. Over 600 labeled neuronal pathways acquired from tracer injections placed across the entire mouse neocortex enabled us to generate a cortical connectivity atlas. 240 intracortical connections were manually reconstructed within a common neuroanatomic framework, forming a cortico-cortical connectivity map that facilitates comparison of connections from different cortical targets. Connectivity matrices were generated to provide an overview of all intracortical connections and subnetwork clusterings. The connectivity matrices and cortical map revealed that the entire cortex is organized into four somatic sensorimotor, two medial, and two lateral subnetworks that display unique topologies and can interact through select cortical areas. Together, these data provide a resource that can be used to further investigate cortical networks and their corresponding functions.

Segregated fronto‐cortical and midbrain connections in the mouse and their relation to approach and avoidance orienting behaviors

“…For example, a number of areas targeted by M2 and by Cg were found by Oh et al (2014), as well as Zingg et al (2014), which were not uncovered in our results. These included the frontal pole, the sensory related area AuD, the piriform cortex, the substantia innominata, some areas within the thalamus and hypothalamus (AD, paraventricular thalamic area, DMH, preoptic area), and within the midbrain (mammillary nucleus, VTA, central raphe nucleus).…”

“…However, in comparison with more recent brain mapping studies, some discrepancies were found (Oh et al, 2014; Zingg et al, 2014). For example, a number of areas targeted by M2 and by Cg were found by Oh et al (2014), as well as Zingg et al (2014), which were not uncovered in our results.…”

Chemogenetic Inactivation of Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Neurons Disrupts Attentional Behavior in Mouse

“…Interestingly, the dACC is reciprocally connected with visual area, and 'top-down' dACC projections modulate sensory processing in the visual cortex (Zhang et al, 2014;Zingg et al, 2014). Thus, one possibility is that attention deficits observed in our study could be attributed to dACC inactivation or alteration of top-down visual processing.…”

Connectomes make the map

“…USC neuroscientist Houri Hintiryan, who is working to generate a mouse mesoconnectome using multiple coloured tracers 3 , says that the gold-standard tool for this analysis is the human eye. She spends a lot of time lining up structures in sequential images.…”