Researchers Create First-Ever Map of a Single adult insect’s Early Visual System

Good news! Amazing stuff! Why did they choose a micro parasitic wasp for this?

"... The wasp’s brain turned out to be “very similar to bigger brains, but simpler and smaller,”  ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Megaphragma lamina connectome is similar to but simpler than that in larger insects

• Denucleation of Megaphragma neurons is class-specific, suggesting a functional role

• Cartridge connectome variation reflects specialization of the dorsal rim ommatidia

Summary

For most model organisms in neuroscience, research into visual processing in the brain is difficult because of a lack of high-resolution maps that capture complex neuronal circuitry. The microinsect Megaphragma viggianii, because of its small size and non-trivial behavior, provides a unique opportunity for tractable whole-organism connectomics. We image its whole head using serial electron microscopy. We reconstruct its compound eye and analyze the optical properties of the ommatidia as well as the connectome of the first visual neuropil—the lamina. Compared with the fruit fly and the honeybee, Megaphragma visual system is highly simplified: it has 29 ommatidia per eye and 6 lamina neuron types. We report features that are both stereotypical among most ommatidia and specialized to some. By identifying the “barebones” circuits critical for flying insects, our results will facilitate constructing computational models of visual processing in insects."

Researchers Create First-Ever Map of a Single Animal’s Early Visual System A team of scientists at the Flatiron Institute and their colleagues have mapped out the entire early visual system — from eyes to neurons — for a tiny parasitic wasp, the first time such a system has been reconstructed at the synaptic level for a single specimen.

A complete reconstruction of the early visual system of an adult insect (open access)

A specimen of Megaphragma viggianiiI, a parasitic wasp the size of some single-celled organisms such as amoebas. The tiny insect exhibits complex behaviors such as flight despite its small stature and brain, making it a useful tool for understanding how brains work.

Researchers mapped the early visual system of a tiny parasitic wasp. Each of the wasp’s 29 compound eye facets (top right) sends signals to a part of the brain called the lamina (left). The researchers found that the patterns of how synapses connect the various neurons (colored lines) reveal how different parts of the eye contribute to the wasp’s sight. This is a brain slice

Figure 1 Optics of the miniaturized compound eye