Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Why not connectomics?

Opinions diverge on whether mapping the synaptic connectivity of the brain is a good idea. Here we argue that albeit their limitations, such maps will reveal essential characteristics of neural circuits that would otherwise be inaccessible.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Potential results from two approaches to studying circuit connectivity.
Figure 2: Two types of wiring diagrams.

References

  1. Markram, H. et al. A Report to the European Commission. http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/files/HBP_flagship.pdf (April 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Collins, F. & Prabhakar, A. The White House Blog http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/04/02/brain-initiative-challenges-researchers-unlock-mysteries-human-mind (2 April 2013).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Pautasso, M. Sustainability 4, 3234–3247 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lichtman, J.W. & Denk, W. Science 334, 618–623 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Masland, R.H. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 11, 431–436 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Lichtman, J.W. & Sanes, J.R. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 18, 346–353 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Diamond, J.S. Nat. Neurosci. 5, 291–292 (2002).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Oláh, S. et al. Nature 461, 1278–1281 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Bargmann, C.I. Bioessays 34, 458–465 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kerchner, G. & Nicoll, R. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 9, 813–825 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Zador, A.M. et al. PLoS Biol. 10, e1001411 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Butcher, A.J. et al. J. Biol. Chem. 286, 11506–11518 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Jahromi, S.S. & Atwood, H.L. J. Cell Biol. 63, 599–613 (1974).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Lichtman, J.W. & Colman, H. Neuron 25, 269–278 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Weimann, J.M. & Marder, E. Curr. Biol. 4, 896–902 (1994).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Lu, J., Tapia, J.C., White, O.L. & Lichtman, J.W. PLoS Biol. 7, 13 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sherman, S.M. & Guillery, R.W. J. Neurophysiol. 76, 1367–1395 (1996).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Seung, H.S. Neuron 62, 17–29 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Song, S., Sjöström, P.J., Reigl, M., Nelson, S. & Chklovskii, D.B. PLoS Biol. 3, e68 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. White, J.G., Southgate, E., Thomson, J.N. & Brenner, S. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 314, 1–340 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Sporns, O., Tononi, G. & Kötter, R. PLoS Comput. Biol. 1, e42 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Chalfie, M., Sulston, J.E., Thomson, J.N. & White, G. J. Neurosci. 5, 956–964 (1985).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Swinford, S. The Sunday Times of London (11 June 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Anderson, J.R. et al. Mol. Vis. 17, 355–379 (2011).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Bock, D.D. et al. Nature 471, 177–182 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Briggman, K.L., Helmstaedter, M. & Denk, W. Nature 471, 183–188 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Freed, M.A. & Sterling, P. J. Neurosci. 8, 2303–2320 (1988).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Semon, R. W. & Simon, L. The Mneme. (G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1921).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Helmstaedter, M. Nat. Methods 10, 501–507 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Kaynig, V. & Vazquez-Reina, A. IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 1, 1–7 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Lein, E.S. et al. Nature 445, 168–176 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Micheva, K.D., Busse, B., Weiler, N.C., O'Rourke, N. & Smith, S.J. Neuron 68, 639–653 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Our work was supported by a Conte Center grant (US National Institute of Mental Health), the US National Institutes of Health, the Gatsby Charitable Trust and Center for Brain Science Harvard University. We thank D. Rodrigues for use of his rendering of his Twitter network and J. De Carlos for Cajal's drawing of the retina.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Joshua L Morgan or Jeff W Lichtman.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Morgan, J., Lichtman, J. Why not connectomics?. Nat Methods 10, 494–500 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2480

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2480

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing