aMAP is a validated pipeline for registration and segmentation of high-resolution mouse brain data.

The validation of automated image registration and segmentation is crucial for accurate and reliable mapping of brain connectivity and function in three-dimensional (3D) data sets. While validation standards are necessarily high and routinely met in the clinical arena, they have to date been lacking for high-resolution microscopy data sets obtained from the rodent brain. Here we present a tool for optimized automated mouse atlas propagation (aMAP) based on clinical registration software (NiftyReg) for anatomical segmentation of high-resolution 3D fluorescence images of the adult mouse brain.

Vapor-based grafting of crosslinked poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings with tuned hydrophilicity and anti-biofouling properties.

Anti-biofouling poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) coatings with tailored crosslinking degrees were synthesized and grafted onto planar and microporous substrates via a one-step vapor-based approach. N-Vinyl pyrrolidone was copolymerized with ethylene glycol diacrylate at different ratios in the vapor phase, resulting in conformal PVP coatings with a wide spectrum of crosslinking degrees. The synthesized coatings were immobilized onto substrates either through covalent bonding with pretreated surfaces, or by first generating a highly crosslinked polymer prime layer on untreated surfaces, followed by in situ grafting from the reactive sites of the prime coating.

The stimulus selectivity and connectivity of layer six principal cells reveals cortical microcircuits underlying visual processing.

Sensory computations performed in the neocortex involve layer six (L6) cortico-cortical (CC) and cortico-thalamic (CT) signaling pathways. Developing an understanding of the physiological role of these circuits requires dissection of the functional specificity and connectivity of the underlying individual projection neurons. By combining whole-cell recording from identified L6 principal cells in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1) with modified rabies virus-based input mapping, we have determined the sensory response properties and upstream monosynaptic connectivity of cells mediating the CC or CT pathway.