Systematic modelling of the development of laminar projection origins in the cerebral cortex: Interactions of spatio-temporal patterns of neurogenesis and cellular heterogeneity

The architectonic type principle conceptualizes structural connections between brain areas in terms of the relative architectonic differentiation of connected areas. It has previously been shown that spatio-temporal interactions between the time and place of neurogenesis could underlie multiple features of empirical mammalian connectomes, such as projection existence and the distribution of projection strengths. However, so far no mechanistic explanation for the emergence of typically observed laminar patterns of projection origins and terminations has been tested. Here, we expand anin silicomodel of the developing cortical sheet to explore which factors could potentially constrain the development of laminar projection patterns. We show that manipulations which rely solely on spatio-temporal interactions, namely the relative density of laminar compartments, a delay in the neurogenesis of infragranular layers relative to layer 1, and a delay in the neurogenesis of supragranular layers relative to infragranular layers, do not result in the striking correlation between supragranular contribution to projections and the relative differentiation of areas that is typically observed in the mammalian cortex. In contrast, we find that if we introduce systematic variation in cell-intrinsic properties, coupling them with architectonic differentiation, the resulting laminar projection patterns closely mirror the empirically observed patterns. We also find that the spatio-temporal interactions posited to occur during neurogenesis are necessary for the formation of the characteristic laminar patterns. Hence, our results indicate that the specification of the laminar patterns of projection origins may result from systematic variation in a number of cell-intrinsic properties, superimposed on the previously identified spatio-temporal interactions which are sufficient for the emergence of the architectonic type principle on the level of inter-areal connectivityin silico. Author summary The organization of structural connections in the brain is crucial for determining brain function. One feature of cortico-cortical connections is the distribution of their origins and terminations across cortical layers, which has been reported to exhibit a striking correlation with the architectonic differentiation of the connected cortical areas. How these laminar patterns emerge during development remains an open question. Here, we explored possible scenarios using systematic simulation experiments. We built on prior simulation experiments, in which we found that realistic patterns of connection existence may arise from spatio-temporal interactions in a homogeneous cortical sheet. We extended the previousin silicomodel of the developing cortical sheet by adding laminar compartments, to probe the development of laminar patterns of connection origins. We found that we could not easily generate characteristic laminar origin patterns by modifying the spatio-temporal growth trajectory of the homogeneous developing cortical sheet (i.e. changing when and where otherwise identical neurons were generated). However, when we added cellular heterogeneity, by modifying a property of axon growth across the simulated cortical sheet, the simulation was able to generate laminar patterns of connection origins that exhibited a positive correlation with the difference in architectonic differentiation between connected areas, similar to the relationship that can be observed in the mammalian cortex.