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The entire connectome was obtained by montaging hundreds of image stacks individually reconstructed. Each axon was pseudo-colored to indicate its trajectory and the position of its neuromuscular terminals. The connectome gives the anatomical underpinning of the graded tensions elicited by motor neurons according to Henneman’s size principle. Ju Lu/Harvard University |
Diverse ‘connectomes’ hint at genes’ limits in the nervous systemGenetics may play a surprisingly small role in determining the precise wiring of the mammalian nervous system, according to painstaking mapping of every neuron projecting to a small muscle mice use to move their ears. These first-ever mammalian “connectomes,” or complete neural circuit diagrams, reveal that neural wiring can vary widely even in paired tissues on the left and right sides of the same animal. |
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