Coming of Age of the Hippocampome
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1
George Mason University, Center for Neural Informatics, Structure, & Plasticity; and Molecular Neuroscience Dept., Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, United States
The “connectome” or connectivity map of the brain is a long-standing goal in neuroscience. Once a visionary dream of Golgi and Cajal, charting the mammalian connectome has been recently recognized as a pressing, if challenging, priority in biomedical research. Different neuroscience sub-communities are targeting a broad range of scales, from the identification of all individual synapses in model organisms with electron microscopy, to long-range regional connections in the human brain with non-invasive imaging. How complete a connectome could realistically be expected in a finite time frame depends on the analytical level of detail. We argue that current technology and knowledge are mature to achieve a quantitative mapping of connectivity at the level of specific neuronal classes for a well-defined portion of the mammalian nervous system, such as the hippocampus. The resulting “hippocampome” will provide a probability of synaptic connection between any given pair of individual pre- and post-synaptic neurons. This database would represent an invaluable resource for both computational applications and empirical investigations. Moreover, a cell-level connectivity map could also constitute a natural framework to build a more comprehensive information system by adding physiological and molecular features to the anatomical foundation.
Conference:
Neuroinformatics 2009, Pilsen, Czechia, 6 Sep - 8 Sep, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Workshop 5 - The neuroinformatics of neural connectivity
Citation:
Ascoli
G
(2019). Coming of Age of the Hippocampome.
Front. Neuroinform.
Conference Abstract:
Neuroinformatics 2009.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.11.2009.08.135
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Received:
11 Jun 2009;
Published Online:
09 May 2019.
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Correspondence:
Giorgio Ascoli, George Mason University, Center for Neural Informatics, Structure, & Plasticity; and Molecular Neuroscience Dept., Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, Fairfax, United States, ascoli@gmu.edu