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To mate or to flee: neural mechanisms underlying action-selection

交配还是逃跑：行动选择的神经机制

基本信息

批准号：
BB/S009299/1
负责人：
Carolina Rezaval
金额：
$ 64.19万
依托单位：
University of Birmingham
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FS009299%2F1
关键词：
mate flee neural mechanisms underlying

项目摘要

Life demands that we make innumerable decisions on a daily basis. For instance, we are often exposed to conflicting situations where we must prioritise one goal over another. Such decisions can affect our everyday life and, collectively, influence how our society evolves. Furthermore, action-selection processes are impaired in neurological disorders, such as addiction, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. How does the brain evaluate the available options and select the most appropriate action for each situation? We know that cues conveying information from the outside world must be constantly assessed and used in combination with internal needs to guide appropriate behavioural choices. However, the neural processes leading to this internal evaluation remain unknown.Understanding how different neurons contribute to optimal action-selection will help us advance our knowledge of how the brain works, and what goes wrong in disease. The complexity of the mammalian brain has made it difficult to fully understand the neural circuits of action-selection. However, we can take advantage of organisms with smaller brains that must also deal with behavioural conflicts on a daily basis. In particular, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster offers a great opportunity to investigate the neural mechanisms of action-selection. Thanks to sophisticated tools available in the fruit fly, we can interrupt specific genes, as well as visualise and manipulate individual neurons with great resolution. With these tools, we can study how the fly brain responds when there are conflicting options available, and how it chooses amongst them. For instance, how does a fruit fly choose between courting a mate or escaping a predator? Where and how is this conflicting information evaluated in the brain to drive an appropriate action?Using a novel behavioural assay in the fruit fly, we aim to identify neurons in the brain that allow the animal to choose between courting and escaping a threat, investigate how these neurons are connected with each other, and how they work together to select an action.By studying how the brain selects actions at a cellular and neural circuit level, in an accessible experimental system, we aim to reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying action-selection that might be common to all animal species. This knowledge, in turn, can be exploited to better understand the complex inner workings of our own brain in health and disease.

生活要求我们每天都要做无数的决定。例如，我们经常面临冲突的情况，我们必须优先考虑一个目标而不是另一个目标。这些决定可以影响我们的日常生活，并共同影响我们的社会如何发展。此外，在成瘾、帕金森病和阿尔茨海默病等神经系统疾病中，行动选择过程也受到损害。大脑如何评估可用的选项，并在每种情况下选择最合适的行动？我们知道，从外部世界传递信息的线索必须不断评估，并与内部需求结合使用，以指导适当的行为选择。然而，导致这种内部评估的神经过程仍然未知。了解不同的神经元如何促成最佳的行为选择，将有助于我们进一步了解大脑如何工作，以及疾病中哪里出了问题。哺乳动物大脑的复杂性使得我们很难完全理解动作选择的神经回路。然而，我们可以利用大脑较小的生物体，它们也必须每天处理行为冲突。特别是，果蝇黑腹果蝇为研究行动选择的神经机制提供了一个很好的机会。多亏了果蝇身上的复杂工具，我们可以中断特定的基因，以及以很高的分辨率可视化和操纵单个神经元。有了这些工具，我们可以研究苍蝇的大脑在有冲突的选择时是如何反应的，以及它是如何在其中做出选择的。例如，果蝇如何在追求配偶和逃避捕食者之间做出选择？大脑在哪里以及如何评估这些相互冲突的信息，以推动适当的行动？在果蝇身上使用一种新的行为实验，我们的目标是识别大脑中允许动物在求爱和逃避威胁之间做出选择的神经元，研究这些神经元是如何相互连接的，以及它们是如何协同工作来选择行动的。通过在一个可访问的实验系统中研究大脑如何在细胞和神经回路水平上选择行为，我们的目标是揭示所有动物物种可能共同存在的行为选择的基本机制。反过来，这些知识可以用来更好地理解我们自己的大脑在健康和疾病中复杂的内部运作。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（10）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

A neuronal mechanism controlling the choice between feeding and sexual behaviors in Drosophila.

DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.029
发表时间：
2021-10-11
期刊：
Current biology : CB
影响因子：
0
作者：
Cheriyamkunnel SJ;Rose S;Jacob PF;Blackburn LA;Glasgow S;Moorse J;Winstanley M;Moynihan PJ;Waddell S;Rezaval C
通讯作者：
Rezaval C

Female Fly Postmating Behaviors.

雌蝇交配后行为。