In this episode, we go beyond the famous C. elegans connectome to explore how signal propagation doesn’t always follow the wires. Using powerful whole-brain calcium imaging combined with single-cell optogenetic activation, researchers mapped over 23,000 neuron pairings to build a functional atlas that rewrites parts of the worm’s wiring diagram.We dive into:How extrasynaptic neuropeptide signalling connects neurons outside synapsesThe discovery of functional connections invisible in the wiring diagramHow C. elegans neural signals propagate both directly and indirectlyThe creation of a functional connectome that predicts spontaneous activity better than anatomy aloneThe surprising flexibility and plasticity of even simple nervous systems📖 Based on the research article:“Neural signal propagation atlas of Caenorhabditis elegans”Francesco Randi, Anuj K. Sharma, Sophie Dvali & Andrew M. LeiferPublished in Nature (2023).🔗 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06683-4🎧 Subscribe to the WOrM Podcast for more full-organism neuroscience that goes deeper than the wires!🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com

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