The neural circuits responsible for animal behavior remain largely unknown. We summarize new methods and present the circuitry of a large fraction of the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Improved methods include new procedures to prepare, image, align, segment, find synapses in, and proofread such large data sets. We define cell types, refine computational compartments, and provide an exhaustive atlas of cell examples and types, many of them novel. We provide detailed circuits consisting of neurons and their chemical synapses for most of the central brain. We make the data public and simplify access, reducing the effort needed to answer circuit questions, and provide procedures linking the neurons defined by our analysis with genetic reagents. Biologically, we examine distributions of connection strengths, neural motifs on different scales, electrical consequences of compartmentalization, and evidence that maximizing packing density is an important criterion in the evolution of the fly's brain.
The neural circuits responsible for animal behavior remain largely unknown. We 31 summarize new methods and present the circuitry of a large fraction of the brain of the fruit fly 32 Drosophila melanogaster. Improved methods include new procedures to prepare, image, align, 33 segment, find synapses in, and proofread such large data sets. We define cell types, refine 34 computational compartments, and provide an exhaustive atlas of cell examples and types, many of 35 them novel. We provide detailed circuits consisting of neurons and their chemical synapses for 36 most of the central brain. We make the data public and simplify access, reducing the effort needed 37 to answer circuit questions, and provide procedures linking the neurons defined by our analysis 38 with genetic reagents. Biologically, we examine distributions of connection strengths, neural motifs 39 on different scales, electrical consequences of compartmentalization, and evidence that 40 maximizing packing density is an important criterion in the evolution of the fly's brain. 41 1 of 57 53 Producing this data set required advances in sample preparation, imaging, image alignment, ma-54 chine segmentation of cells, synapse detection, data storage, proofreading software, and protocols 55 to arbitrate each decision. A number of new tests for estimating the completeness and accuracy 56 were required and therefore developed, in order to verify the correctness of the connectome. 57 These data describe whole-brain properties and circuits, as well as contain new methods to 58 classify cell types based on connectivity. Computational compartments are now more carefully 59 defined, we identify actual synaptic circuits, and each neuron is annotated by name and putative 60 cell type, making this the first complete census of neuropils, tracts, cells, and connections in this 61 2 of 57 Manuscript submitted to eLife Figure 2. Brain regions contained and defined in the hemibrain, following the naming conventions of (Ito et al., 2014) with the addition of (R) and (L) to specify the side of the soma for that region. Gray italics indicate master regions not explicitly defined in the hemibrain. Region LA is not included in the volume. The regions are hierarchical, with the more indented regions forming subsets of the less indented. The only exceptions are dACA, lACA, and vACA which are considered part of the mushroom body but are not contained in the master region MB.portion of the brain. We compare the statistics and structure of different brain regions, and for 62 the brain as a whole, without the confounds introduced by studying different circuitry in different 63 animals. 64 All data are publicly available through web interfaces. This includes a browser interface, Ne-65 uPrint (Clements et al., 2020), designed so that any interested user can query the hemibrain con-66 nectome even without specific training. NeuPrint can query the connectivity, partners, connection 67 strengths and morphologies of all specified neurons, thus making identifica...
The neural circuits responsible for behavior remain largely unknown. Previous efforts have reconstructed the complete circuits of small animals, with hundreds of neurons, and selected circuits for larger animals. Here we (the FlyEM project at Janelia and collaborators at Google) summarize new methods and present the complete circuitry of a large fraction of the brain of a much more complex animal, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Improved methods include new procedures to prepare, image, align, segment, find synapses, and proofread such large data sets; new methods that define cell types based on connectivity in addition to morphology; and new methods to simplify access to a large and evolving data set. From the resulting data we derive a better definition of computational compartments and their connections; an exhaustive atlas of cell examples and types, many of them novel; detailed circuits for most of the central brain; and exploration of the statistics and structure of different brain compartments, and the brain as a whole. We make the data public, with a web site and resources specifically designed to make it easy to explore, for all levels of expertise from the expert to the merely curious. The public availability of these data, and the simplified means to access it, dramatically reduces the effort needed to answer typical circuit questions, such as the identity of upstream and downstream neural partners, the circuitry of brain regions, and to link the neurons defined by our analysis with genetic reagents that can be used to study their functions.Note: In the next few weeks, we will release a series of papers with more involved discussions. One paper will detail the hemibrain reconstruction with more extensive analysis and interpretation made possible by this dense connectome. Another paper will explore the central complex, a brain region involved in navigation, motor control, and sleep. A final paper will present insights from the mushroom body, a center of multimodal associative learning in the fly brain.
Animal behavior is principally expressed through neural control of muscles. Therefore understanding how the brain controls behavior requires mapping neuronal circuits all the way to motor neurons. We have previously established technology to collect large-volume electron microscopy data sets of neural tissue and fully reconstruct the morphology of the neurons and their chemical synaptic connections throughout the volume. Using these tools we generated a dense wiring diagram, or connectome, for a large portion of theDrosophilacentral brain. However, in most animals, including the fly, the majority of motor neurons are located outside the brain in a neural center closer to the body, i.e. the mammalian spinal cord or insect ventral nerve cord (VNC). In this paper, we extend our effort to map full neural circuits for behavior by generating a connectome of the VNC of a male fly.
Diagnostic ultrasound imaging has been a common tool in medical practice for several decades. It provides a safe and effective method for imaging structures internal to the body. There has been a recent increase in the use of ultrasound technology to visualize the shape and movements of the tongue during speech, both in typical speakers and in clinical populations. Ultrasound imaging of speech has greatly expanded our understanding of how sounds articulated with the tongue (lingual sounds) are produced. Such information can be particularly valuable for speech-language pathologists. Among other advantages, ultrasound images can be used during speech therapy to provide (1) illustrative models of typical (i.e. "correct") tongue configurations for speech sounds, and (2) a source of insight into the articulatory nature of deviant productions. The images can also be used as an additional source of feedback for clinical populations learning to distinguish their better productions from their incorrect productions, en route to establishing more effective articulatory habits.Ultrasound feedback is increasingly used by scientists and clinicians as both the expertise of the users increases and as the expense of the equipment declines. In this tutorial, procedures are presented for collecting ultrasound images of the tongue in a clinical context. We illustrate these procedures in an extended example featuring one common error sound, American English /r/. Images of correct and distorted /r/ are used to demonstrate (1) how to interpret ultrasound images, (2) how to assess tongue shape during production of speech sounds, (3), how to categorize tongue shape errors, and (4), how to provide visual feedback to elicit a more appropriate and functional tongue shape. We present a sample protocol for using real-time ultrasound images of the tongue for visual feedback to remediate speech sound errors. Additionally, example data are shown to illustrate outcomes with the procedure.
The order HF-LF may represent a preferred order for UVF in speech therapy. This is consistent with empirical work and theoretical arguments suggesting that visual feedback may be particularly beneficial in the early stages of acquiring new speech targets.
Purpose The aim of the study was to examine how ultrasound visual feedback (UVF) treatment impacts speech sound learning in children with residual speech errors affecting /ɹ/. Method Twelve children, ages 9–14 years, received treatment for vocalic /ɹ/ errors in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design comparing 8 sessions of UVF treatment and 8 sessions of traditional (no-biofeedback) treatment. All participants were exposed to both treatment conditions, with order counterbalanced across participants. To monitor progress, naïve listeners rated the accuracy of vocalic /ɹ/ in untreated words. Results After the first 8 sessions, children who received UVF were judged to produce more accurate vocalic /ɹ/ than those who received traditional treatment. After the second 8 sessions, within-participant comparisons revealed individual variation in treatment response. However, group-level comparisons revealed greater accuracy in children whose treatment order was UVF followed by traditional treatment versus children who received the reverse treatment order. Conclusion On average, 8 sessions of UVF were more effective than 8 sessions of traditional treatment for remediating vocalic /ɹ/ errors. Better outcomes were also observed when UVF was provided in the early rather than later stages of learning. However, there remains a significant individual variation in response to UVF and traditional treatment, and larger group-level studies are needed. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8206640
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.