title: Ome sweet ome: what can the genome tell us about the connectome?
abstract: Some neuroscientists argue that detailed maps of synaptic connectivity--wiring diagrams--will be needed if we are to understand how the brain underlies behavior and how brain malfunctions underlie behavioral disorders. Such large-scale circuit reconstruction, which has been called connectomics, may soon be possible, owing to numerous advances in technologies for image acquisition and processing. Yet, the community is divided on the feasibility and value of the enterprise. Remarkably similar objections were voiced when the Human Genome Project, now widely viewed as a success, was first proposed. We revisit that controversy to ask if it holds any lessons for proposals to map the connectome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. jeff@mcb.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jeff W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lichtman
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sanes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016678:Genome / Q000502:physiology*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D016045:Human Genome Project / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
references.citation: Nature. 2008 Apr 17;452(7189):872-6
references.pmid: 18421352
references.citation: Nature. 2007 Jan 11;445(7124):168-76
references.pmid: 17151600
references.citation: Science. 1986 Jun 27;232(4758):1598-600
references.pmid: 3715466
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Feb 15;409(6822):814-6
references.pmid: 11236992
references.citation: Science. 2008 Feb 8;319(5864):810-3
references.pmid: 18174397
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2008 Jul 1;6(7):e159
references.pmid: 18597554
references.citation: Science. 2001 Feb 16;291(5507):1182-8
references.pmid: 11233424
references.citation: Nature. 2007 Nov 8;450(7167):203-18
references.pmid: 17994087
references.citation: Cell. 2007 Mar 23;128(6):1187-203
references.pmid: 17382886
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1986 Nov 12;314(1165):1-340
references.pmid: 22462104
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Oct;16(5):562-70
references.pmid: 16962767
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Feb 15;409(6822):860-921
references.pmid: 11237011
references.citation: J Neurosci. 1991 Jan;11(1):1-22
references.pmid: 1986064
references.citation: Neuron. 2008 Mar 13;57(5):634-60
references.pmid: 18341986
references.citation: Cell. 2008 May 30;133(5):753-6
references.pmid: 18510915
references.citation: Nature. 2008 Sep 11;455(7210):237-41
references.pmid: 18668038
references.citation: Hum Mol Genet. 2005 Oct 15;14 Spec No. 2:R171-81
references.pmid: 16162640
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 1991 Jan-Feb;1(1):1-47
references.pmid: 1822724
references.citation: Nat Methods. 2007 Apr;4(4):307-8
references.pmid: 17396125
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2007 Oct;17(5):601-8
references.pmid: 18082394
references.citation: Trends Biochem Sci. 1991 Dec;16(12):455, 457, 459
references.pmid: 1781023
references.citation: Science. 2001 Feb 16;291(5507):1182
references.pmid: 11233423
references.citation: Nat Methods. 2008 Feb;5(2):155-7
references.pmid: 18193054
references.citation: Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. 2007;36:191
references.pmid: 17291181
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2007;35(18):6227-37
references.pmid: 17855400
references.citation: Nat Genet. 1998 Dec;20(4):333-5
references.pmid: 9843203
references.citation: Science. 2007 May 25;316(5828):1153-8
references.pmid: 17525330
references.citation: Science. 2001 Feb 16;291(5507):1304-51
references.pmid: 11181995
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Mar 19;99(6):3712-6
references.pmid: 11880605
references.citation: Annu Rev Biophys Bioeng. 1979;8:323-51
references.pmid: 383004
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2008 Jun;9(6):417-22
references.pmid: 18446160
references.citation: Cell. 2006 May 5;125(3):607-20
references.pmid: 16678102