> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.wormbrain.info/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.wormbrain.info/explore-wormbrain/02-the-worm/the-connectome.md).
# the connectome
A connectome is a list of who talks to whom. For this worm it is complete enough to run as a closed system. Sensors on one end. Muscle on the other. Everything in between named.
## 
## Two kinds of wire
* **Chemical synapses.** One cell dumps a signal. The next cell catches it. The effect can push the next cell up or down, depending on the chemical.
* **Gap junctions.** A direct electrical pore. Activity leaks both ways.
The tables we load include both. Counts shift a little between papers because later groups re-traced old photos and found contacts the first pass missed. We pin one published reader and keep it pinned, so an October run is the same animal as a March run.
## Where the table comes from
1. **White et al., 1986:** first whole-animal wiring paper.
2. Later re-annotations filled gaps in the original photos.
3. **Cook et al., 2019:** whole-animal connectomes for both sexes, end organs included. We pin the hermaphrodite reader from that line.
WormBrain's generator turns those tables into a network a simulator can step. We do not retrace photos in a basement. How that generator is layered is on [The model](file:///3621209/04-lab/the-model.md).
## What "pinned" means
Connectome papers get corrections. If we floated to whatever table was newest, the worm would quietly change shape and nobody on FOMO would know why a habit died. Pinning means:
* one named release of the wiring
* one set of cell names
* a note in the [audit trail](file:///3621209/04-lab/audit.md) if we ever move the pin
Training does not move the pin. Training only changes how loudly some cells listen. See [How we trained it](file:///3621209/03-the-experiment/how-we-trained-it.md).
{% hint style="success" %}
The wiring table is the published animal. The generator, the clock, the nose, and the wallet are WormBrain. Pictures of the generated network live on [The model](file:///3621209/04-lab/the-model.md).
{% endhint %}
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