Largest brain map ever reveals fruit fly’s neurons in exquisite detail

NEWS
02 October 2024

Wiring diagram lays out connections between nearly 140,000 neurons and reveals new types of nerve cell.

A comprehensive map of the fifty largest neural connections of the fly brain. — Researchers have mapped nearly 140,000 neurons in the fruit-fly brain. This version shows the 50 largest. Credit: Tyler Sloan and Amy Sterling for FlyWire, Princeton University (ref. 1)

A fruit fly might not be the smartest organism, but scientists can still learn a lot from its brain. Researchers are hoping to do that now that they have a new map — the most complete for any organism so far — of the brain of a single fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The wiring diagram, or ‘connectome’, includes nearly 140,000 neurons and captures more than 54.5 million synapses, which are the connections between nerve cells.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03190-y

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