Scientists Map Thousands of Brain Connections With RNA Barcodes

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed Connectome-seq, a sequencing-based method that uses unique RNA barcodes to label neurons and read paired barcodes at synapses.

In a mouse pontocerebellar circuit, the technique mapped more than 1,000 neurons and revealed unexpected connection patterns at single-synapse resolution.

The approach could speed up large-scale brain wiring maps and improve understanding of neural circuits and disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.