The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is about 1 millimetre long HeitiPaves/Getty
A COMPLETE map of all the neurons and their connections in both sexes of an animal has been described for the first time. This “connectome” will not only help us understand how neurons work, but could also improve our understanding of human mental-health problems.
The tiny soil-dwelling nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans has long been used for research because it has so few neurons. The hermaphrodite version of it, for example, has 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, compared with 86 billion in the human brain alone.
A basic…
