Second complete map of a fruit fly brain completed
Summary
Researchers completed a detailed map of every neuron and their connections in the brain of a male fruit fly. This map, called a connectome, helps scientists understand how the brain processes information and may improve studies of more complex brains in the future.Key Facts
- The connectome shows all neurons and their connections (synapses) in the male fruit fly brain.
- The male fly brain has about 150,000 neurons and over 300 million synaptic connections.
- Mapping these connections helps scientists learn how brain cells communicate and process sensory information.
- A similar connectome for a female fruit fly was completed earlier in the same year.
- The project was a joint effort between biologists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus and computer scientists at Google.
- Advanced imaging and computer tools were necessary to create the connectome because of the brain’s complexity.
- The work could help develop better methods for studying more complex nervous systems, including those of vertebrates.
- Early brain mapping efforts on simpler organisms showed that manual methods were too slow and computers had to advance to handle such tasks.
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