title: Connectomics-based analysis of information flow in the Drosophila brain.
abstract: Understanding the overall patterns of information flow within the brain has become a major goal of neuroscience. In the current study, we produced a first draft of the Drosophila connectome at the mesoscopic scale, reconstructed from 12,995 images of neuron projections collected in FlyCircuit (version 1.1). Neuron polarities were predicted according to morphological criteria, with nodes of the network corresponding to brain regions designated as local processing units (LPUs). The weight of each directed edge linking a pair of LPUs was determined by the number of neuron terminals that connected one LPU to the other. The resulting network showed hierarchical structure and small-world characteristics and consisted of five functional modules that corresponded to sensory modalities (olfactory, mechanoauditory, and two visual) and the pre-motor center. Rich-club organization was present in this network and involved LPUs in all sensory centers, and rich-club members formed a putative motor center of the brain. Major intra- and inter-modular loops were also identified that could play important roles for recurrent and reverberant information flow. The present analysis revealed whole-brain patterns of network structure and information flow. Additionally, we propose that the overall organizational scheme showed fundamental similarities to the network structure of the mammalian brain.
authors: Department of Applied Physics, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan. Electronic address: shih.chi.tin@gmail.com.
authors: Chi-Tin
authors: CT
authors: Shih
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
authors: Olaf
authors: O
authors: Sporns
authors: Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors: Shou-Li
authors: SL
authors: Yuan
authors: Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors: Ta-Shun
authors: TS
authors: Su
authors: Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors: Yen-Jen
authors: YJ
authors: Lin
authors: National Center for High-Performance Computing, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan.
authors: Chao-Chun
authors: CC
authors: Chuang
authors: Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors: Ting-Yuan
authors: TY
authors: Wang
authors: Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors: Chung-Chuang
authors: CC
authors: Lo
authors: Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0126, USA.
authors: Ralph J
authors: RJ
authors: Greenspan
authors: Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0126, USA; Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80780, Taiwan; Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan. Electronic address: aschiang@life.nthu.edu.tw.
authors: Ann-Shyn
authors: AS
authors: Chiang
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D063132:Connectome; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D066194:Olfactory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000109:Acetylcholine