Sensory recurrence and convergent integration in the C. elegans connectome

Sensory neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans connectome show about three times more recurrence than strength-matched random networks, revealing a sensory-to-integration feedback gradient.

• Why it matters: Whole-brain optogenetic mapping indicates activity is not predominantly feed-forward, but how much wiring loops back to starting neurons—especially along sensory pathways—was unclear.
• What they did: The authors computed a feedback coefficient from the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger framework for directed networks, then compared recurrence and convergence against strength-matched random connectomes across five reconstructions.
• The result: Recurrence excess is largest in sensory neurons and forms a thermotaxis gradient toward integrating interneurons, replicating across adults and persisting under preserved reciprocal contacts or gap-junction removal, but disappearing with only short paths or loop counts.

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