AI learns to trace neuronal pathways

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists have taught computers to recognize a neuron in microscope images of the brain more efficiently than any previous approach. The researchers improved the efficiency of automated methods for tracing neurons and their connections, a task that is increasingly in demand as researchers work to map the brain’s densely interconnected circuits. They did it by teaching the computer to recognize different parts of neurons, each of which have different characteristics.