Tag

Connectome

All articles tagged with #connectome

technology29 days ago•1 min saved

Fruit Fly Brain Map Takes the Wheel in Doom and Beat Saber

Researchers released MaleCNS v1.0, a full wiring map of an adult male fruit fly brain (about 166,000 neurons and 125 million connections) built by Google Research, HHMI Janelia, and partners using AI on millions of images, then connected it to games like Doom, Beat Saber, and Minecraft to translate sensory inputs into neural activity and outputs into game controls. The work demonstrates a sophisticated brain-like model driving virtual actions, but scientists emphasize it is a static connectome, not a conscious mind, while sparking ongoing demos and debates about the ethics and implications of brain simulations.

via x.com|

#ai-simulation #connectome #fruit-fly-brain

technology1 month ago•2 min saved

Fruit Fly Brain Connectome Lets a Brain Play Doom and Mario 64

Researchers from Google and HHMI’s Janelia mapped the fruit fly’s nervous system into a connectome—the largest brain map by neuron count to date (about 166,000 neurons and 125 million synapses)—using serial EM and AI to reconstruct its wiring; the work aims to illuminate how brains perceive stimuli and repair neural pathways. Online developers are already using the data to train simulated fly brains to play Doom and Mario 64, with broader plans to map connectomes in other species.

via Gizmodo|

#connectome #doom #fruit-fly

science1 month ago•12 min saved

Second Fruit Fly Brain Connectome Complete, Paving Way for Neurobiology

Researchers completed the second complete connectome of a fruit fly brain: the male Drosophila connectome (≈150,000 neurons and >300 million synapses) was mapped over about four years using serial electron microscopy, AI-powered stitching and segmentation, and human proofreading in a Janelia–Google collaboration. It follows a female connectome finished earlier this year and should accelerate neurobiology research while enabling new insights into sex differences, including 289 male-specific neurons, 71 female-specific neurons, and 138 shared neurons wired differently.

via Ars Technica|

#connectome #drosophila #electron-microscopy

science1 month ago•59 min saved

Complete male fruit fly brain connectome unlocks sex-specific brain comparisons

Scientists have finished the first full connectome of the male fruit fly’s central nervous system, mapping all 166,000 neurons across brain, optic lobes, and ventral nerve cord. When compared with the female map unveiled in 2024, this resource enables researchers to identify sex-specific neural circuits underlying behaviors such as mating and aggression. The project, by the FlyEM team at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus with Cambridge Connectomics and Google Research, was published in Cell and Current Biology and lays groundwork for future large-scale connectomics across species.

via Yahoo|

#connectome #fruit-fly-brain #hhmi-janelia

science1 month ago•144 min saved

Complete male fruit‑fly brain connectome enables direct male–female neural comparisons

A newly completed map of the adult male fruit fly central nervous system catalogs about 166,000 neurons and the connections between them, enabling direct comparisons with the female brain (mapped to ~140,000 neurons in 2024). This connectome will help researchers understand how neural circuits drive sex-specific behaviors such as mating and aggression and serves as a technical roadmap for broader connectomics efforts in other species, including potential implications for human neuroscience.

via Live Science|

#brain-mapping #connectome #fruit-fly

science3 months ago•12 min saved

Fruit Fly Connectome Reveals Distributed Brain-Body Control of Movement

Researchers produced the first complete brain-to-body wiring map (connectome) for an adult fruit fly, revealing that many movements arise from local neural circuits in the brain and nerve cord rather than a single brain controller. The 3D map links brain and body connections, is openly accessible, and will enable new hypotheses in neuroscience and insights for AI—with the work published in Nature and expanding plans to add neuropeptide data.

via SciTechDaily|

#brain-body-integration #connectome #fruit-fly

artificial-intelligence5 months ago•17 min saved

Digital Brain Twins Fuel the Mind-Uploading Debate

San Francisco startup Eon Systems demonstrated a virtual fruit fly brain built from a complete connectome that can replicate neuron firing with 95% fidelity and move a digital body in a Sims-like environment. They call this a digital twin and see it as a step toward full brain simulation and mind uploading, but some scientists warn that consciousness may not arise from such simulations, arguing it’s a category error to infer experience from a replicated brain. Even if Eon reaches a mouse connectome soon, the leap to a conscious human brain remains uncertain given the brain’s immense complexity; however, the approach could still accelerate medical neuroscience by debugging brain mechanics in a controllable digital setting.

via Gizmodo|

#artificial-intelligence #connectome #consciousness

technology7 months ago•19 min saved

Digital Fruit Fly Walks: Whole-Brain Emulation Drives a Virtual Body

Researchers demonstrated an embodied whole-brain emulation of an adult fruit fly using the FlyWire connectome, with 125,000 neurons and 50 million synapses driving walking and feeding in a simulated body powered by NeuroMechFly v2 and MuJoCo, achieving about 95% motor-prediction accuracy; the work uses a biological connectome replica rather than reinforcement learning and aims to scale to mice, advancing neuroscience and AI.

via Ground News|

#connectome #fruit-fly #mujoco

science8 months ago•8 min saved

Flawed Brain Mapping Casts Doubt on Targeted Neuromodulation

A Nature Neuroscience study reveals a mathematical flaw in lesion network mapping, producing nearly identical brain networks across diverse conditions and challenging the validity of disease-specific targets, prompting calls for revised methods and cautious clinical application.

via The Transmitter|

#brain-imaging #brain-mapping #connectome

science11 months ago•3 min saved

New Brain Map Unveils How Our Minds Truly Work

New research using MRI data and meta-analysis tools reveals that the brain's connectivity patterns serve as unique fingerprints for different regions, strongly linking structure to function across various mental activities, providing a comprehensive baseline for understanding healthy brain organization and potential neurological disorders.

via ScienceDaily|

#brain-connectivity #brain-mapping #connectome

science1 year ago•4 min saved

Scientists Unveil Advanced MRI Scanner for Microscopic Brain Imaging

Scientists supported by NIH have developed the Connectome 2.0, an ultra-high-resolution MRI scanner capable of noninvasively imaging microscopic brain structures, advancing our ability to map the brain's wiring and understand neurological disorders at a cellular level.

via National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov)|

#brain-imaging #connectome #mri

science-and-technology2 years ago•3 min saved

Unveiling the Intricate Wireless Maps of Brain-Cell 'Antennae' and Worm's Nervous System

Scientists have created a detailed 3D map of the primary cilia, tiny hairlike structures found on the surface of brain cells, across the human cortex. These cilia act as antennae, sensing signals from the environment and passing them to the cell's nucleus. The map, which details 56,000 cells, could guide research into ciliopathies, diseases caused by disruptions in cilia function. The study revealed that cilia differ in size and shape depending on the cell type and cortical layer, and they are embedded in the brain's connectome. Further research will explore how primary cilia influence neural circuits and their potential use in treating neurological disorders.

via Livescience.com|

#brain-cells #cilia #connectome

neuroscience2 years ago•8 min saved

Unveiling the Intricacies of Brain Signals and Synapses

Researchers at Princeton University have used the transparent worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, to study how neural information flows in the brain. By employing advanced techniques like optogenetics, they were able to visually track signal flow in real-time, neuron by neuron, and discovered unexpected "wireless signals" involving molecular releases that affect neural dynamics. This groundbreaking research challenges existing predictions based on the worm's connectome and provides valuable insights into understanding neural response.

via Neuroscience News|

#brain-signals #c-elegans #connectome

neuroscience3 years ago•8 min saved

New Fruit Fly Nerve Cord Connectome Revealed by Researchers

Researchers have released the most comprehensive connectome of the adult fruit fly nerve cord, providing an exceptional resource for the scientific community. The connectome, constructed from about 23,000 neurons, reveals the intricate network controlling the fly’s motor functions. New insights have already emerged from the data, challenging previous theories on fly movement. This achievement not only advances understanding of fruit fly neurology, but also serves as a model for similar future projects.

via Neuroscience News|

#connectome #fruit-fly #motor-functions