143. On human nanoscale synaptome: Morphology modeling and storage estimation

Abstract

One of the key challenges in neuroscience is to generate the human nanoscale connectome which requires comprehensive knowledge of the synaptome forming the neural microcircuit. The synaptic architecture determines the limits of individual mental capacity and provides the framework for understanding neurologic disorders. This talk will address morphology modeling and storage estimation for the human synaptome at the nanoscale. 

A synapse is defined as a pair of pairs [(presynaptic_neuron, (presynaptic_axonal_terminal); (postsynaptic_neuron), (postsynaptic_dendritic_terminal)]. Center coordinates, radius, and identifier characterize a dendritic or axonal terminal. A synapse comprises topology with the paired neuron and terminal identifiers, location with terminal coordinates, and geometry with terminal radii. 

The storage required for the synaptome depends on the number of synapses and storage necessary for a single synapse determined by a synaptic model. I introduce three synaptic models: topologic with topology, point with topology and location, and geometric with topology, location, and geometry. To accommodate for a wide range of variations in the numbers of neurons and synapses reported in the literature, four cases of neurons (30;86;100;138 billion) and three cases of synapses per neuron (1,000;10,000;30,000) are considered with three full and simplified (to reduce storage) synaptic models resulting in total 72 cases of storage estimation. 

The topologic model is sufficient to compute the connectome’s topology, but it is still too big to be stored on today’s top supercomputers related to neuroscience. Frontier, the world’s most powerful supercomputer for 86 billion neurons can handle the nanoscale synaptome in the range of 1,000–10,000 synapses per neuron. To my best knowledge, this is the first big data work attempting to provide storage estimation for the human nanoscale synaptome.

About the author:

Prof. Wieslaw L. Nowinski, D.Sc., Ph.D. – scientist, innovator, entrepreneur, manager, pioneer, and visionary; science-medicine-art “bridge builder”; creator of “world’s most gorgeous” human brain atlases.Dr. Nowinski and his team created 51 diverse human brain atlases, including 35 brain atlas products used worldwide in neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neurology, neuroscience, human brain mapping, and neuroeducation. The professor is affiliated with four of the world’s top 10 universities (according to the Shanghai domain ranking). Dr. Nowinski has 606 scientific publications, as well as 71 patents granted (23 US, 11 EP, 33 SG, 4 DE) and 68 patent applications. It is possible to download the latest Nowinski atlas and  list of papers at www.wieslawnowinski.com.