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Did you know that what goes on in the fruitfly's brain can become legible to you?

Neuroscientists from Northwestern University show you how. They have developed a device that can illuminate the active communications between neurons in a fly during particular behavior or sensory experiences.

With the help of this tool, they can examine the mapping patterns of individual neural connections, according to the study, It is expected to help us understand the "computational processes that occur between neurons in the human brain", according to HNGN.

They used different-colored florescent molecules in order to label neurons in the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly's three sensory systems, so that they could examine links active during earlier sensory experiences. This is the first one that has allowed scientists to identify synapses, the points of communication permitting neurons to communicate, and are active during exhibition of complicated behavior.

"Much of the brain's computation happens at the level of synapses, where neurons are talking to each other," said Marco Gallio, who led the study, in a press release. "Our technique gives us a window of opportunity to see which synapses were engaged in communication during a particular behavior or sensory experience. It is a unique retrospective label."

With the help of genetic engineering, the team developed the fluorescent labeling method. It began with a gene for a green fluorescent protein identified in jellyfish, creating three different-colored markers which lit up when neurons communicated via synapses.

Hence, they could read the markers even three hours after a complex behaviour got over.

"Different synapses are active during different behaviors, and we can see that in the same animal with our three distinct labels," said Gallio. "Our results show we can detect a specific pattern of activity between neurons in the brain, recording instantaneous exchanges between them as persistent signals that can later be visualized under a microscope."