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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Lauran Neergaard

A mouse watching The Matrix changed what we know about our brains

This image provided by the Allen Institute on April 8, 2025, shows a digital representation of neurons in a section of a mouse's brain, part of a project to create the largest map to date of brain wiring and function, in Seattle, Wash. (Forrest Collman/Allen Institute via AP) - (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Scientists have constructed the most extensive functional brain map to date, charting the connections of 84,000 neurons as they transmit signals, thanks to a mouse that was shown clips from "The Matrix".

Researchers examined a fragment of the mouse's brain, approximately the size of a poppy seed, pinpointing neurons and tracing their communication pathways through branch-like fibres across 500 million junctions known as synapses.

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