BMI Seminar // Davi Bock "Wherefore connectomics: recent lessons from the fly brain"

Recently, the multi-lab FlyWire consortium announced the completion of the synaptic wiring diagram of all neurons in the brain of an adult fruit fly — its connectome — based on a whole-brain electron microscopy (EM) dataset acquired by my laboratory. I will discuss the genesis of the dataset and the later connectome as an example of a successful bottom-up, self-organized, open-science effort, and highlight several of the new scientific directions opening up as a result of the connectome. These include the incorporation of synaptic connectivity into definitions of cell type across multiple connectomes, and the application of deep learning techniques to train connectome-constrained models of neuronal circuits to generate plausible and specific hypotheses about network function. I will conclude by looking ahead to the prospect of larger reference atlases for zebrafish and mouse, as well as the prospect of using high-throughput volume EM methods for many smaller volumes, thereby enabling the more routine incorporation of connectomics and volume ultrastructure into the design of multi-volume experiments.

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