Researched
Worm connectome
John White, Sydney Brenner and colleagues traced all 302 neurons of the roundworm C. elegans and their connections from electron micrographs in 1986.
Open in the interactive tree →Brenner chose the worm as a simple model animal in the 1960s, and the wiring diagram took years of tracing through thousands of thin slices. It proved that a whole animal nervous system can be mapped, yet the wiring alone did not explain the worm's behaviour.
Prerequisites
- Microscope1665
- Neuron doctrine1888
- Electron microscope1931-1933The worm wiring diagram was traced from electron micrographs
Unlocks
- Brain wiring maps2024The fly maps follow the worm wiring diagram of 1986, the first complete one
- Simulating a whole brainopenThe worm's 302-neuron wiring map is the first test case for simulating a whole brain