Nematode worms are providing a very, very small window on the neural connections that we humans share. A feature in New Scientist follows the circuitous path of our knowledge about consciousness and the neural networks of the brain.

Complex cognitive thinking, such as self-awareness, does not arise from one particular region of the brain. A team of researchers at University College London is developing imaging systems to map the intricate wiring of neurons in an attempt to understand the basis of that connectivity. Another set of scientists from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, is discovering how these networks influence brain function and behavior. Next up, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle hacked the neural connections of the nematode worm.

Scientists were able to implant a connection between two previously unconnected neurons that control the way worms respond in the presence of salt. Normally salt creates an uptick in electrical activity in one neuron and a decrease in another, but in this case, the two neurons began speaking the same language.

These and other neural experiments such as the mouse and human connectome projects at the University of Utrecht, Oxford and elsewhere are revolutionizing how we see and understand the inner workings of the brain.