> In one paper, for example, researchers used the connectome to create a computer model of the entire fruit-fly brain, including all the connections between neu

> In one paper, for example, researchers used the connectome to create a computer model of the entire fruit-fly brain, including all the connections between neurons. They tested it by activating neurons that they knew either sense sweet or bitter tastes. These neurons then launched a cascade of signals through the virtual fly’s brain, ultimately triggering motor neurons tied to the fly’s proboscis — the equivalent of the mammalian tongue. When the sweet circuit was activated, a signal for extending the proboscis was transmitted, as if the insect was preparing to feed; when the bitter circuit was activated, this signal was inhibited. To validate these findings, the team activated the same neurons in a real fruit fly. The researchers learnt that the simulation was more than 90% accurate at predicting which neurons would respond and therefore how the fly would behave. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03190-y https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03190-y