Citation
The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
TL;DR
Complete mapping of all 302 neurons in C. elegans
First complete connectome of any organism - a 15-year effort mapping all 302 neurons and their ~7,000 synaptic connections in C. elegans. This monumental achievement provided the foundational dataset that Watts and Strogatz analyzed to discover small-world properties in neural networks.
The work demonstrated that complete neural wiring diagrams are achievable and that network topology analysis can reveal organizational principles of nervous systems.
Key Findings from White et al. (1986)
- Complete mapping of all 302 neurons in C. elegans
- Identified ~7,000 synaptic connections and their weights
- First organism with fully characterized connectome
- Provided foundation for subsequent network topology analysis