Title: Discovering brain wiring mechanisms through gene expression
Speaker: Leon French
Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia
Abstract

The wiring diagram of the brain is complex and puzzling. It's self assembly is guided by both activity and guidance signals. Neuroscientists have identified several genes that provide such signals. To test the global relationships between gene expression and neuroanatomical connectivity we examine large scale gene expression signatures in the mouse brain. The analysis approaches whole brain scale by using a wiring matrix of 962 nodes and gene expression signatures of 20,000 genes within 142 nodes. We find that even after development, adult gene expression signatures have a statistical relationship to connectivity. We extracted a reduced set of genes most correlated with neuroanatomical connectivity. Using GO analysis we find this set is enriched for axon genesis, guidance and fasciculation.