Scientists can now watch nearly every neuron fire in a behaving animal. New microscopy captures brain-wide activity in small creatures as they move and sense. It links single cells to whole behaviors.
Brain-wide view
Coverage is vast. Activity from most neurons is recorded at once. The whole is seen.
In action
Behavior is intact. Animals move and sense during imaging. Function is captured live.
Cells to behavior
Links emerge. Patterns tie neural activity to actions. Causation can be probed.
Data deluge
Analysis is heavy. Enormous recordings demand new tools. Computation is central.
Model organisms
Scope is set. Worms, flies, and fish are studied. Simplicity enables it.
Toward complexity
Ambition grows. Larger brains are the goal. Methods scale slowly.
The bottom line
New microscopy records brain-wide neural activity in behaving animals, linking single cells to whole behaviors. The data demand powerful analysis. Scaling to larger brains is the next frontier.
