Decoding Brain Function: Mapping the Conceptual Structure of C. elegans' Sensorium

Abstract

Reverse-engineering a living creature's functional connectome is a key challenge in neuroscience. Using KFormal Concept Analysis, we explore the olfactory perception of Caenorhabditis elegans uncovering robust multimodal relationships between odorants and sensory neurons. Our findings reveal a many-to-many encoding scheme, where neurons respond to multiple odorants, and each odorant activates several neurons-an efficient strategy for sensory encoding in compact connectomes. Robustness tests confirm the stability of our results across dilutions and ablations. Overall, our work highlights the potential of K-Formal Concept Analysis and related techniques to reverse-engineer the sensory perception phase of the sensation-action loop in model organisms, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the energy-efficient intelligence of C. elegans. © 2025 IEEE.