Limitations of Neural Map Topography for Decoding Spatial Information.

A very common feature of brain wiring is that neighboring points on a sensory surface (eg, the retina) are connected to neighboring points in the brain. It is often assumed that this "topography" of wiring is essential for decoding sensory stimuli. However, here we show in the developing zebrafish that topographic decoding performs very poorly compared with methods that do not rely on topography. This suggests that, although wiring topography could provide a starting point for decoding at a very early stage in development, it may be replaced by more accurate methods as the animal gains experience of the world.