If interested in this topic, Prof. Bing Brunton gave a talk at #Cosyne2026 which is very much worth watching:
https://youtu.be/yhUBq5R01qA?t=3430
Among other topics, Bing presents the minimal network for the oscillatory behaviour that sustains walking, and also the embodiment of a connectome by plugging it into a virtual mechanical model of the fly, #MuJoCo from the #AnyBrain #HHMIJanelia project team.
Postdoc position: Career Returner Fellowship
"The LMB is proud to launch a three-year fully funded fellowship for scientists who have had a career break of 12 months or more."
"At the LMB, we understand that stepping away from research – even briefly – can affect career progression. That is why we have created a dedicated postdoctoral fellowship to support researchers who have taken a career break of 12 months or more, for any reason, for example parental leave, health reasons, caregiving, a career change or other personal circumstances."
https://mrclmb.ac.uk/careers-and-people/postdocs/career-returner-fellowship/
Happy to discuss applications to our lab in #Drosophila #connectomics, #ElectronMicroscopy or #ComputerVision applied to #BioimageInformatics.
Shawn Mikula's https://connectomes.org/ doesn't load, but the domain name is registered. Does anyone know who is maintaining the site?
Now out as a version of record:
"Neural connectome of the ctenophore statocyst", Jokura et sl. 2026 (Jékely lab)
Octopamine (OA) is a major biogenic amine in the invertebrate nervous system and is often considered a functional analog of vertebrate noradrenaline. Along with its immediate precursor tyramine (TA), OA influences diverse physiological and behavioral processes, including sensory processing and social behavior. However, understanding the neural basis of its multifunctionality has been constrained by the limited genetic access to defined OA/TA neuron types. Here, we present a curated set of transgenic driver strains that provide selective access to nearly all long-range OA/TA cell types in the brain of common fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster . Using these tools, we map cell-type-specific innervation patterns, compare male and female neuroanatomy, and cross-reference identified neuron types with electron microscopy connectome datasets. As a proof of principle, we show that distinct optic lobe-projecting OA/TA neuron types differentially modulate visually guided behaviors, and we identify a novel OA/TA cell type that suppresses aggression in both sexes. This resource establishes a practical and conceptual foundation for cell-type-resolved analysis of OA/TA circuit function and enables direct integration of genetics, anatomy, and connectomics for studies of neuromodulatory circuit organization. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. National Institute of General Medical Sciences, https://ror.org/04q48ey07, R35GM119844 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, R01NS120984
By the way, unlike what the piece says, Murrhy and Seung did NOT "have the idea to use those images to identify and map the connections between each visible neuron, creating a connectome".
That idea had been floating about the field since Brenner and his C. elegans connectome, and those in a position to execute were the groups at Janelia with discretionary HHMI finding, like Rubin, Bock and myself. And we did.
What the Seung lab did was capitalise on the published EM volume of the adult female fly brain to apply more effective image registration and neuron segmentation approaches than the ones tried so far at that point by the Fly EM Project Team at Janelia. Synapses were detected by Julia Buhmann in saalfeld's lab at Janelia as well. The research groups led by Seung, Jefferis (at MRC LMB) and Murthy then put in the gargantuan effort of proofreading to deliver the published connectome.
Sunday slow rereading on #neuroscience #drosophila #flybrain #electromicroscopy #connectomics #omics
Holy Molly forgot this top notch quotation!?
,There is a before and after connectome—B.C. and A.C.’
@albertcardona referencing a well-known quote from #columbiaun #TheoreticalNeuroscience Larry Abbott
with this follow-up:
,It’s the end of the beginning’
https://www.science.org/content/article/complete-map-fruit-fly-brain-circuitry-unveiled
Invest in Brains, Not GPUs - Adam Marblestone and Dwarkesh Patel
flypapers
Albert Cardona
Teixi
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