Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Understanding Circuit Evolution with Comparative Connectomics

In the Kebschull lab, we ask how brain areas, circuits, and cell types change across evolution to produce the complex network architecture of extant vertebrate brains. Answering these questions will not only teach us about evolution but reveal general principles of brain circuit design and network structure.

We approach our work by developing molecular and viral tools to map brain connectivity and gene expression at much higher resolution and larger scales than previously possible. These tools include barcode sequencing-based tracing tools (MAPseq, BRICseq) and in situ sequencing approaches. We apply these technologies to a variety of species --- including mice and humans, but also birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even sharks --- and compare and contrast across them. This process allows us to infer the most likely evolutionary histories of brain circuits and to discover simplifying organizing principles.