INTRODUCTION: Processes such as perception, action and cognition are determined by the connectivity between different neuronal groups. Understanding the principles of this network is a core objective of present-day neuroscience. Several animal models are used to investigate this relationship between structure and function, among them marmosets, which recently came to prominence. They are small monkeys (300–400 g) but their brain retains all defining features of the primate brain. AIM(S): The aim is to create a publicly available, the world’s most comprehensive repository of the afferent cortico-cortical connectivity of any primate species, enabling a new level of analysis and modelling. The connectome will be publicly available on‑line making it possible to flexibly access all the data via a graphical front-end or via an application programming interface. METHOD(S): The already available body of data comprises results of over 100 monosynaptic retrograde tracer injections in marmosets. The brains were cut in 40 µm sections. The sections were plotted using an epifluorescence microscope, and stained for Nissl substance. To map individual injections into the atlas space, a previously established pipeline was used. RESULTS: The current version of the portal is available at http://marmoset.braincircuits.org. It allows one to access unprocessed experimental data, mostly injections in dorsal prefrontal cortex, parietal and occipital lobes. Additionally, the locations of individual cells are expressed in atlas-based stereotaxic coordinates which allows one to perform either area-based or parcellation-free connectivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The release of open access connectomes is known for triggering numerous follow-up modelling and theoretical studies. In a longer perspective, the unique nature of data in our project will help to understand how the highly complex network of neuronal connections enable brain functions in primates, and, in general, in mammals. FINANCIAL SUPPORT: The project is supported by the Australian Research Council grant (DP140101968) and International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility Seed Funding grant.
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