Nature News and Views on the connectome

Dr. Devineni wrote a News and Views for Nature highlighting the new papers that describe the first Drosophila whole-brain connectome. The article describes what the connectome is, why it’s so important, and some of the historical context about how it came to be. It was an honor to write about such a groundbreaking milestone!

Image showing some of the neurons in the connectome, courtesy of FlyWire.

For those who want the TL DR: The connectome is a map of all the neurons and connections in the entire brain, and it has already begun to revolutionize the field. It provides a roadmap to trace neural circuits, make hypotheses about their function, and simulate brain activity. Entire PhDs spent tracing neuronal connections through anatomical experiments can now be replaced with a few clicks on the connectome website. Our lab’s recent preprint on the architecture of taste circuits provides one example of how the connectome allows us to readily address questions that decades of previous work failed to answer.

The article doesn’t allow for an acknowledgements section, but we want to thank Barbara Noro, Chris Rodgers, and Vivek Jayaraman for providing valuable comments and feedback!

Dr. Devineni was also quoted in the New York Times and Science Magazine articles about the connectome, which provide some great additional perspectives.