Is a wiring diagram enough to understand the brain? In this episode, we dive into how researchers combined whole-brain optogenetic stimulation with calcium imaging in C. elegans to reveal functional neural connections that go beyond the traditional connectome.
Key insights include:
A new functional atlas built from ~23,000 neuron pair experiments
How neuropeptides and extrasynaptic signals contribute to brain activity
Strong functional links often exist without anatomical connections
A data-driven rethinking of how neural signals propagate and integrate
Implications for plasticity, brain evolution, and full-organism modelling
This episode sheds light on how small brains can perform complex processing — by rewiring our assumptions about wiring.
📖 Based on the research article:
“Neural signal propagation atlas of Caenorhabditis elegans”
Francesco Randi, Anuj K. Sharma, Sophie Dvali & Andrew M. Leifer
Published in Nature (2023)
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06683-4
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