How the brain of a fly may help explain human behaviour

Researchers at Cambridge have mapped all 124 million nerve connections in a male fruit fly's brain and compared it to a female fly's brain, discovering that 5% wiring differences drive distinct behaviours including aggression, visual tracking in courtship, and the production of courtship songs.

The findings are from fruit fly brains, not human brains. The research may eventually illuminate human conditions like autism and schizophrenia, but the scientists emphasize that human behaviour is far more complex than fly behaviour.