NeuroGPS-Tree: automatic reconstruction of large-scale neuronal populations with dense neurites

NeuroGPS-Tree can reconstruct individual neurons from dense populations of fluorescently labeled neurons using computational strategies inspired by the strategies humans use. The reconstruction of neuronal populations, a key step in understanding neural circuits, remains a challenge in the presence of densely packed neurites. Here we achieved automatic reconstruction of neuronal populations by partially mimicking human strategies to separate individual neurons. For populations not resolvable by other methods, we obtained recall and precision rates of approximately 80%. We also demonstrate the reconstruction of 960 neurons within 3 h.