UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM presents "Computational maps of the mouse brain" Dr. Pascal Grange (Xi'an Jiaotong- Liverpool University, China) 27 October 2021 (Wednesday) 13:00 -14:00 Everyone is Welcome to Attend (over Zoom) Abstract: Neuroscience is being revolutionised by high-throughput experiments, whose results beg for quantitative analysis. In this colloquium I will discuss (1) cell-type-specific maps and (2) the topology of circuits in the mouse brain. (1) With the advent of molecular biology, cell types can be classified on a genetic basis. Each cell carries an entire copy of the genome of the organism. It converts this genetic information to proteins via messenger RNA (mRNA). The amount of mRNA produced for each gene is called the transcriptome of the cell. Hence the problem of gene-based neuroanatomy: given a cell type, characterised by its transcriptome, can we predict where it is found in the brain? This problem can be addressed only computationally: addressing it experimentally would involve the microdissection of each brain cell. (2) On the other hand, the wiring diagram of the mouse brain has recently been mapped at a mesoscopic scale in the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas. The corresponding data yielded a matrix of connection strengths between 213 brain regions, reflecting the local structure of the wiring diagram. Global features such as closed loops formed by connections of similar intensity can be inferred using tools from persistent homology. We propose to map the wiring diagram of the mouse brain to a simplicial complex (filtered by connection strengths, spanning several orders of magnitude). Working out generators of the first homology group reveals major neuroanatomical patterns of circuits such as cortico-striatal and cortico-thalamic circuits. --------------------------------------------------- Hertfordshire Computer Science Research Colloquium http://cs-colloq.cs.herts.ac.uk