Blue Brain project accurately predicts connections between neurons

Blue Brain project accurately predicts connections between neurons: To their great surprise, they found that the locations on the model matched that of synapses found in the equivalent real-brain circuit with an accuracy ranging from 75 percent to 95 percent...

This means that neurons grow as independently of each other as physically possible and mostly form synapses at the locations where they randomly bump into each other.
A few exceptions were also discovered, pointing out special cases where signals are used by neurons to change the statistical connectivity. By taking these exceptions into account, the Blue Brain team can now make a near perfect prediction of the locations of all the synapses formed inside the circuit.

Short Sharp Science: Mapping the most complex object in the known universe

Short Sharp Science: Mapping the most complex object in the known universe:  Mapping out this intricate web previously depended on the human eye as no computer was powerful enough to handle the brain's complex network of 70 billion neurons and thousands of kilometres of circuits...
Now with the help of two computer programs, Moritz Helmstaedter, Kevin Briggman and Winfried Denk have developed a faster and more accurate way of completing this neural cartography.
The first program, KNOSSOS - named after an ancient palace labyrinth in Crete - lets untrained users visualise and annotate 3D image data while the second, RESCOP summarises their work.

Mapping connectomes in the visual cortex | KurzweilAI

Mapping connectomes in the visual cortex | KurzweilAI: The researchers used high-resolution imaging of neurons in the visual cortex of mouse brains, which contains thousands of neurons and millions of different connections. Using high-resolution imaging, they were able to detect which of these neurons responded to a particular stimulus, for example, a horizontal edge.

Taking a slice of the same tissue, the researchers then applied small currents to a subset of neurons in turn to see which other neurons responded and which of them were synaptically connected. By repeating this technique many times, the researchers were able to trace the function and connectivity of hundreds of nerve cells in the visual cortex.

Harvard Researchers Illuminate Connections Among Brain Cells in Technicolor | Popular Science

Harvard Researchers Illuminate Connections Among Brain Cells in Technicolor | Popular Science: In 2007, Harvard scientists figured out how to combine fluorescent proteins to create an entire color palette, and then used it to make mouse neurons glow so they could be traced through the brain. The “Brainbow” technique has helped scientists follow neurons’ connections, which had been almost impossible to untangle.
Fruit fly researchers have now done the same thing, producing a dual Brainbow of methods for making Drosophila neurons glow. It is much simpler and faster than staining individual neurons, another method for mapping brain connections.