Vibrissa-to-brain: centimetre scale bottom-up connectomics

Current mammalian connectomic work is impeded by the small scale of analyzable samples compared to the large scale of mammalian brains. Consequently, the circuits under investigation are difficult to understand because relevant inputs are typically missing. Our proposal addresses this problem with centimetre-scale connectomic analysis of the vibrissa-to-brain connection. We developed the vibrissa-to-brain preparation, which preserves the connection of vibrissa follicle and brain and allows hierarchical synchrotron of this pathway. ID16A test scans confirm the feasibility of detecting fine axonal branches in the brainstem region of these samples, which we previously imaged entirely at DESY P10 (GINIX). Here, we aim to perform targeted imaging of the entire brainstem and ganglion of such a vibrissa-to-brain sample to map identified afferents onto their neuronal wiring partners in the brain. This first-off centimetre-sized circuit mapping will open novel avenues in connectomic research.