Partha Mitra seeks to develop an integrative picture of brain function, incorporating theory, informatics, and experimental work. In the ongoing Mouse Brain Architecture Project, Mitra and colleagues are generating a brain-wide connectivity map for the mouse using a shotgun approach, where neuronal tracer substances are injected systematically on a grid in the brain. Currently, ~500 tracer-injected mouse brains may be viewed through a virtual online digital microscope on the project portal (mouse.brainarchitecture.org). The project requires a petabyte of data, posing big-data computational challenges that the lab is finding novel ways of meeting. In another application of whole-brain digital neuroanatomy, Mitra is collaborating with Josh Huang to characterize the distribution of the cell bodies and processes of subtypes of GABAergic neurons in mouse brains, to understand the differences between a normal mouse and mouse models of autism spectrum disorders. In parallel, Mitra is undertaking theoretical work at the interface between physics, engineering, and biology by bringing methods from statistical physics to bear on problems in network control theory and multivariable statistics. Biological networks involve large numbers of variables, and it is expected that insights and analytical methods derived from this work will apply to biological networks such as the whole-brain network being determined in the Mouse Brain Architecture Project.

Bamieh, B., Jovanovic, M.R., Mitra, P., and Patterson, S. 2012. Coherence in Large-Scale Networks: Dimension-Dependent Limitations of Local Feedback.  Automatic Control, IEEE Transactions on  57: 2235–2249.

Bohland, J.W., Wu, C., Barbas, H., Bokil, H., Bota, M., Breiter, H.C., Cline, H.T., Doyle, J., Freed, P.J., Greenspan, R.J., Haber, S.N., Hawrylycz, M., Herrera, D.G., Hilgetag, C.C., Huang, Z.J., Jones, A., Jones, E.G., Karten, H.J., Kleinfeld, D., Kötter, R., Lester, H.A., Lin, J.M., Mensh, B.D., Mikula, S., Panksepp, J., Price, J.L., Safdieh, J., Saper, C.B., Schiff, N.D., Schmahmann, J., Stillman, B.W., Svoboda, K., Swanson, L.W., Toga, A.W., Van Essen, D., Watson, J.D., and Mitra, P.P. 2009.  A proposal for a coordinated effort for the determination of brainwide neuroanatomical connectivity in model organisms at a mesoscopic scale.  PLoS Comp. Biol. 5: e1000334

Fehér, O., Wang, H., Saar, S., Mitra, P.P., and Tchernichovski, O. 2009. De novo establishment of wild-type song culture in the zebra finch. Nature 459: 564–568.

Pesaran, B., Pezaris, J.S., Sahani, M., Mitra, P.P., and Andersen, R.A. 2002. Temporal structure in neuronal activity during working memory in macaque parietal cortex. Nat. Neurosci. 5: 805–811.

Andrews, M.R., Mitra, P.P., and deCarvalho, R. 2001. Tripling the capacity of wireless communications using electromagnetic polarization. Nature 409: 316–318.

Archived Publications

For neurons in the brain, identity can be used to predict location
March 24, 2014

CSHL’s Partha Mitra receives two awards for theoretical work with implications for brain circuitry
December 10, 2013

Analysis of 26 networked autism genes suggests functional role in the cerebellum
July 25, 2013

Neuroscientists reach major milestone in whole-brain circuit mapping project

George S. Axelby Outstanding Paper Award
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