For the first time, scientists have managed to create a detailed 3D model of a fly’s brain, which consists of about 130,000 neurons, for which they had to precisely determine the location and shape of each cell, as well as trace about 50 million connections between them. This is the deepest and most detailed study of the adult animal brain ever conducted.
The images, published in the journal Nature, show a neural structure whose beauty is as complex as its architecture. The researchers were able to isolate the specific neural pathways used to perform certain functions of the body and show how they are connected to each other. For example, cells responsible for movement are located at the base of the brain, while neurons responsible for visual perception are located on the side.
To create the detailed model, the fly brain was carefully sliced into 7,000 layers with a microscopic scalpel, each layer was individually photographed and converted into digital format. After that, a team of scientists from Princeton used artificial intelligence to extract information about the shape of each individual cell and the connections between them from the photographs. At the same time, the artificial intelligence made more than three million mistakes during its work, which the researchers had to correct manually.
The human brain has about a million times more nerve cells than the fruit fly (Drosophila) being studied. The researchers believe that in about 30 years it will be possible to create a similar diagram of the human brain. And the diagram of the fly brain lays the foundation for a deeper understanding of how the human brain works.
The research work was carried out through the joint efforts of a number of scientific teams from around the world, united in a large international group, the FlyWire Consortium.
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