Comparative Analysis of Identified Neurons & Behavior

已识别神经元的比较分析

• 批准号: 0422883
• 负责人: Christopher Comer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-09-01 至 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0422883&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Comparative; Analysis; Identified; Neurons; &amp

An important general aim of neuroscience is to understand the design principles of brain circuits that control behavior and insects provide ideal models for understanding brain circuitry. Their brains are comprised of relatively few cells, and they have well-defined behavior patterns. The present research project will analyze how specific brain cells are organized into functional circuits controlling behavior in a group of related insects. The comparison of brain circuits in closely related species will provide understanding of the general principles by which brains are engineered by nature to control behavior. In previous work funded by NSF, it was established that specific brain cells ("DMIs") of some insects trigger evasive responses to antennal contact from predators. The antennae are under visual guidance, apparently in part by a brain cell referred to as "DCMD". Preliminary evidence suggests that in some insects the DCMD acts as a visual sensor and the DMIs control directional movements so that as an ensemble these cells form a circuit to coordinate directional motor behaviors specific to each insect species. A specific hypotheses will be tested: that the visual sensing part of this circuit has remained fairly constant across different insects, but that the way in which the circuit delivers information to movement systems has changed to account for the differing behavioral requirements of each species. This hypothesis will be tested by mapping the structure of the cells, recording their responses to an array of sensory cues, and recording how they signal during behavior. The cells also will be selectively inactivated. A diverse group of students will receive neuroscience training during the project. Finally, the studies will lead to new tools such as a database of identified brain cells for researchers and this information could be used for designing "biologically inspired" circuits for applications in robotics and for building intelligent interfaces between people and machines.

神经科学的一个重要的总体目标是了解控制行为的脑回路的设计原则，昆虫为理解脑回路提供了理想的模型。它们的大脑由相对较少的细胞组成，它们有明确的行为模式。目前的研究项目将分析特定的脑细胞如何组织成控制一组相关昆虫行为的功能回路。对近亲物种的脑回路进行比较，将有助于理解大脑是如何被大自然设计来控制行为的一般原理。在之前由美国国家科学基金会资助的研究中，已经确定某些昆虫的特定脑细胞（“dmi”）会触发对捕食者触角接触的逃避反应。这些天线在视觉指导下工作，显然部分是由一种被称为“DCMD”的脑细胞控制的。初步证据表明，在一些昆虫中，dmd充当视觉传感器，dmi控制定向运动，因此作为一个整体，这些细胞形成一个电路来协调每种昆虫特定的定向运动行为。一个特定的假设将被测试：这个回路的视觉感知部分在不同昆虫之间保持相当恒定，但是电路向运动系统传递信息的方式已经改变，以解释每个物种不同的行为要求。这一假设将通过绘制细胞结构、记录它们对一系列感官线索的反应以及记录它们在行为过程中如何发出信号来验证。这些细胞也将被选择性地灭活。在这个项目中，一群不同的学生将接受神经科学培训。最后，这些研究将为研究人员带来新的工具，如已识别的脑细胞数据库，这些信息可用于设计“受生物学启发”的电路，用于机器人应用，以及在人与机器之间建立智能接口。