Fruit Fly Brain Mapped by Google Used to Play Video Games

Google has mapped the brain of an adult male fruit fly and made it available for download. The connectome, called MaleCNS v1.0, reconstructs over 166,000 neurons in the fly's brain.

The team behind this project claims that it is a major milestone in neuroscience. Engineers have already used the model to train the fly brain to play games such as Doom, Beat Saber, Super Mario 64, and Minecraft.

Alex Wormuth, a Coinbase engineer, has been training the fly brain to play Doom. The fly's activity is being translated into game controls by mapping each frame of the game to sensory neurons in the fly's brain.

The project has sparked interest among researchers and hobbyists alike. Some have used the model to create side projects such as a driving simulation and an escape room.