Biophysical approaches to complex navigational behaviors in larval Drosophila mel

摘要 神经科学的最终目标是了解外周和大脑之间的相互作用 中枢神经系统引起人类的行为，感官信息是如何在 我们的大脑和记忆来刺激行动。但是，由于人类的行为是由大脑和 超过1,000亿个神经元，从感官到感官的全面综合方法 目前，电机输出的输入是不可想象的。果蝇，有感官的 形态、神经回路和进化上高度保守的复杂行为， 已经成为神经研究的模型系统。果蝇很简单，很容易驯服， 但又足够复杂，既具有科学意义，又具有生物医学意义。这 研究计划将为理解、感知和自愿创造新的范式 利用果蝇幼虫的作用，这对于本研究具有独特的优势。在前期工作中， 我们使用了一种新的跟踪系统来量化幼虫背后的算法 趋化性、趋光性和趋热性行为。使用由我们的 我们正在为光学生理和行为开发的合作者和新工具 量化在自由活动的动物中，我们将调查幼虫内部的途径 大脑使用通过幼虫收集的信息？S感觉外周做出决定和 导致身体行为。这些个体感觉通道研究是第一步 理解这个模型系统？S更深层次的复杂性、行为原理和神经 大脑背后的编码？S的合成提供了单独的环境表征 通过多种感官来产生有目的的和连贯的行为。

Abstract The ultimate goal of neural science is to understand how interaction between the peripheral and central nervous systems gives rise to human behavior, how sensory information is processed in our brain and memory to stimulate action. But, as human behavior is mediated by a brain with over 100 billion neurons, a comprehensive and integrative approach all the way from sensory input to motor output is currently unimaginable. The fruit fly Drosophila, with sensory modalities, neural circuits, and complex behaviors that are strongly evolutionarily conserved, has emerged as a model system for neural research. Drosophila is simple enough to be tractable, yet complex enough to be scientifically interesting as well as biomedically relevant. This research program will create new paradigms for understanding perception and voluntary action using larval Drosophila, which has unique advantages for this study. In preliminary work, we have used a novel tracking system to quantify the algorithms that underlie larval chemotactic, phototactic, and thermotactic behavior. Using genetic tools provided by our collaborators and new tools that we are developing for optical physiology and behavior quantification in freely moving animals, we will investigate how pathways within the larval brain use information gathered across the larvum?s sensory periphery to make decisions and result in physical behavior. These individual sensory modality studies are the first steps to understanding this model system?s deeper complexities, the behavioral principles and neural encoding behind the brain?s synthesis of the separate environmental representations provided by multiple senses to result in purposeful and coherent behavior.