We’re back with Part II of our two-part series on Connectomics! 

In part one we speculated on the legal and ethical implications of emerging technologies in the connectomics field. In part two, we don our lab coats and take a deep dive into the latest research tools, from fixation protocols for the preservation of neural tissue, to multimodal imaging techniques, to the machine intelligence designed to interpret massive data sets and reconstruct the vast neural circuits that make up the connectome. 

Our guests are: 

In this episode, Ken and Robert from part one return to the pub, and we are also joined by Jeremy Maitin-Shepard, an engineer and researcher at Google, who shares insights into some of the machine intelligence modalities being used to decode previously uncharted neural networks. Check out Jeremy’s recent paper on BioRxiv, as well as his published work at Google. 

If you missed part one, you can listen and explore the show notes here. Cheers!

Show Notes: 

0:00 | Intro

1:03 | Kenneth Hayworth, PhD

1:12 | Robert McKintyre, CEO, Nectome

1:17 | Jeremy Maitin-Shepard, PhD

1:51 | Setting the record straight 

3:09 | The nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage φX174

4:22 | Frozen Zoo at San Diego Zoo

12:01| Glutaraldehyde and reduction techniques for immunolabeling 

17:39 | SWITCH Framework

19:14 | Population Responses in V1 Encode Different Figures by Response Amplitude 

Enhanced mirror neuron network activity and effective connectivity during live interaction among female subjects 

Permeabilization-free en bloc immunohistochemistry for correlative microscopy 

19:57 | Synaptic Signaling in Learning and Memory 

Structure and function of a neocortical synapse 

Engineering a memory with LTD and LTP 

Synapse-specific representation of the identity of overlapping memory engrams 

20:28 | Ultrastructure of Dendritic Spines

Structure–stability–function relationships of dendritic spines 

24:25 | Reconstructing the connectome 

24:32 | Connectomics Research Team at Google 

24:55 | Google x HHMI: Releasing the Drosophila Hemibrain Connectome 

28:38 | Serial Block-Face Scanning Electron Microscopy 

29:22 | Automated Serial Sections to Tape

29:45 | Mapping connections in mouse neocortex

30:59 | A connectome and analysis of the adult Drosophila central brain 

32:14 | Expansion Microscopy

34:37 | The future of connectomics 

45:13 | Contribution of apical and basal dendrites to orientation encoding in mouse V1 L2/3 pyramidal neurons

49:49 | Mice and rats achieve similar levels of performance in an adaptive decision-making task 

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