Seeing is believing: Janelia reveals connectome of the fruit fly visual system
A sample of some of the neurons identified in the optic lobe Credit: Shin-ya Takemura and Philip Hubbard / HHMI Janelia Research Campus
Janelia scientists and collaborators have reached another milestone in connectomics, unveiling a comprehensive wiring diagram of the fruit fly visual system.
The optic lobe connectome provides a map of the more than 50,000 neurons that form the fruit fly’s visual system, giving scientists the fullest picture yet of one of the most intriguing and important parts of the nervous system.
Like humans and other animals, flies rely on their vision to carry out behaviors essential for survival. The optic lobes, which make up half the fly’s brain and connect to its eyes, receive and process visual information. They enable the tiny insect to see a looming predator, fly to a ripe banana, or walk towards a potential mate.
For decades, researchers have chipped away at mapping small regions of the optic lobe, but these efforts yielded insight into only discrete areas, leaving scientists to speculate about how the whole system worked together.
