Hierarchy of Neural Organization in the Embryonic Spinal Cord: Granger-Causality Graph Analysis of In Vivo Calcium Imaging Data
Hierarchy of Neural Organization in the Embryonic Spinal Cord: Granger-Causality Graph Analysis of In Vivo Calcium Imaging Data
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DOI：
10.1109/tnsre.2014.2341632
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发表时间：
2015-05-01
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Chavez, Mario
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fallani, Fabrizio De Vico;Corazzol, Martina;Chavez, Mario
最近开发的基因编码钙指示剂能够监测体内神经元群的活动。对这些钙瞬变的大多数分析依赖于基于施加的感觉刺激或观察到的行为的线性回归分析。为了估计功能神经回路的基本特性，我们提出了一种以单细胞分辨率记录钙成像的网络方法。与之前基于互相关的分析不同，我们使用格兰杰因果关系估计来推断不同神经元活动之间的信息传播。然后将所得的功能网络建模为有向图，并根据连接性和节点中心性进行表征。我们将我们的方法应用于斑马鱼脊髓腹侧神经元在胚胎阶段自发卷曲尾巴时以低频（4 Hz）记录的钙瞬变。我们对群体钙成像数据的分析揭示了强大的同侧连接性和网络中枢的特征层次结构，支持从脊髓头端到尾端的活动传播。我们的方法可用于检测发育和病理条件下神经元回路的功能缺陷。
The recent development of genetically encoded calcium indicators enables monitoring in vivo the activity of neuronal populations. Most analysis of these calcium transients relies on linear regression analysis based on the sensory stimulus applied or the behavior observed. To estimate the basic properties of the functional neural circuitry, we propose a network approach to calcium imaging recorded at single cell resolution. Differently from previous analysis based on cross-correlation, we used Granger-causality estimates to infer information propagation between the activities of different neurons. The resulting functional network was then modeled as a directed graph and characterized in terms of connectivity and node centralities. We applied our approach to calcium transients recorded at low frequency (4 Hz) in ventral neurons of the zebrafish spinal cord at the embryonic stage when spontaneous coiling of the tail occurs. Our analysis on population calcium imaging data revealed a strong ipsilateral connectivity and a characteristic hierarchical organization of the network hubs that supported established propagation of activity from rostral to caudal spinal cord. Our method could be used for detecting functional defects in neuronal circuitry during development and pathological conditions.