What can we learn from a connectome? We constructed a simplified model of the first two stages of the fly visual system, the lamina and medulla. The resulting hexagonal lattice convolutional network was trained using backpropagation through time to perform object tracking in natural scene videos. Networks initialized with weights from connectome reconstructions automatically discovered well-known orientation and direction selectivity properties in T4 neurons and their inputs, while networks initialized at random did not. Our work is the first demonstration, that knowledge of the connectome can enable in silico predictions of the functional properties of individual neurons in a circuit, leading to an understanding of circuit function from structure alone.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology（香港科技大学）；ZENBOT；Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学）；The Hong Kong Polytechnic University（香港理工大学）
Simulating Alzheimer's amyloid-like pathology on a fly central nervous system connectome
Indiana University School of Medicine（印第安纳大学医学院）；Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine（印第安纳大学医学院阿尔茨海默病研究中心）
