Scientists Map Entire Brain of Adult Fruit Fly
Scientists Map Entire Brain of Adult Fruit Fly
The Facts
Princeton University researchers have mapped 50M connections between every single one of 139,255 neurons [brain nerve cells] in the adult fruit fly's poppy seed-sized brain.Princeton University researchers have mapped 50M connections between every single one of 139,255 neurons in the adult fruit fly's poppy seed-sized brain.
According to Sven Dorkenwald, the lead author of the study published on Wednesday in Nature, the researchers built "an atlas of the brain, and added annotations for all the businesses, the buildings, the street names."
The Spin
This groundbreaking research opens ewnew possibilities for understanding brain function and could inspire novel machine-learning architectures. The complete connectome of a complex living creature provides a valuable resource for studying brain organization and behavior. It's a crucial step towards unraveling the mysteries of more advanced brains, including human cognition.
Mapping increasingly complex brains is an enormous challenge that may yield little benefit. While the fruit fly larval brain is impressive, it's is still far removed from human brain complexity. The time, resources, and computational power required to map more advanced brains could be better spent on other neuroscience research avenues that directly impact human health and cognition.
