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神经和 中枢神经系统引起人类行为，感觉信息是如何处理的， 我们的大脑和记忆来刺激行动。但是，由于人类行为是由大脑介导的， 超过1000亿个神经元，一个全面和综合的方法，从感觉到 输入到电机输出是目前无法想象的。果蝇Drosophila，具有感官 形态、神经回路和复杂行为在进化上是高度保守的， 已经成为神经研究的模型系统。果蝇简单到可以被驯服， 但又足够复杂，既有科学意义，又有生物医学意义。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。在初步工作中， 我们使用了一种新的跟踪系统来量化幼虫的算法， 趋化、趋光和趋热行为。利用我们的遗传工具， 我们正在开发的用于光学生理学和行为学的新工具 在自由移动的动物量化，我们将研究如何在幼虫的途径 大脑利用幼虫收集的信息的感官外围做出决定， 导致身体行为。这些个体感觉模态研究是第一步， 了解这个模型系统？更深层次的复杂性，行为原则和神经 大脑背后的编码的合成的单独的环境表示提供 通过多种感官来产生有目的和连贯的行为。

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.