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Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
The connectome of the adult *Drosophila* mushroom body provides insights into function
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Paper Summary
Conflicts of Interest
Identified Weaknesses
Rating Explanation
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Paper Summary
Paperzilla title
Fly Brain's Mushroom Body Connectome: More Visual Than We Thought!
This study analyzed the connectome of the *Drosophila* mushroom body (MB), revealing a higher-than-expected level of visual input and a new class of "atypical" MBONs that integrate information from both inside and outside the MB lobes. The research also uncovered intricate connectivity patterns between MBONs and DANs, providing insights into the neural mechanisms underlying associative learning.
Possible Conflicts of Interest
The authors are affiliated with well-regarded research institutions and funding sources, including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust. No specific conflicts of interest related to commercial entities or products were identified.
Identified Weaknesses
Limited connectome dataset
The study relies heavily on a single connectome dataset (hemibrain:v1.1), which, while extensive, represents only a portion of the adult female fly brain. This limits the ability to fully trace neuronal pathways that extend outside the hemibrain volume, potentially missing important connections and interactions.
Reliance on synaptic thresholds
The study uses synaptic thresholds to focus on strong connections, but the choice of these thresholds is somewhat arbitrary and could potentially exclude weaker but relevant connections. Additionally, the functional significance of synapse number isn't fully understood, and strong connections may not always correspond to functionally important pathways.
Lack of KC activity data
Although there is extensive data on KC morphology and connectivity, there is little information on the activity patterns of these neurons in response to different stimuli. This makes it challenging to directly map connectivity onto functional roles in sensory processing and learning.
Limited understanding of DAN input signals
While the study identifies DAN subtypes and their input patterns, it lacks direct information about the nature of the signals conveyed by the hundreds of input neurons to DANs. This makes it difficult to understand how DANs represent different reinforcement signals and internal brain states.
Rating Explanation
This paper provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the *Drosophila* mushroom body circuit by presenting a detailed analysis of its connectome. The findings regarding the extent of visual input to the MB, the discovery of atypical MBONs, and the intricate DAN connectivity patterns offer valuable insights into the neural basis of learning, memory, and behavior. While the study has some limitations (reliance on a single connectome, use of synaptic thresholds), its comprehensive approach and novel findings justify a high rating. The lack of any obvious commercial conflicts of interest also supports this rating.
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File Information
Original Title:
The connectome of the adult *Drosophila* mushroom body provides insights into function
File Name:
Li2020_elife-62576-v1.pdf
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File Size:
43.62 MB
Uploaded:
July 14, 2025 at 06:58 AM
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