Motivated by the desire to automate classification of neuron morphologies, we designed a topological signature, the Topological Morphology Descriptor (TMD), that assigns a "barcode" to any any finite binary tree embedded in ${\mathbb R}^3$. Using the TMD we performed an objective, stable classification of pyramidal cells in the rat neocortex, based only on the shape of their dendrites.

In this talk, I will introduce the TMD, then focus on a very recent application to comparing mouse and human cortical neurons and characterizing the differences between them. I'll also briefly discuss the role of machine learning in our work.

This talk is based on collaborations led by Lida Kanari of the Blue Brain Project.