State dependent neuronal encoding of complex sensory environments

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Most animals live in complex environments that often contain conflicting information about their surroundings. Survival, therefore, depends on the ability of the nervous system to collect and process relevant information, allowing the animal to generate an appropriate behavioural response. While single neurons may be suited to detect certain aspects of the environment, the combined activity of groups of neurons is crucial for detecting and deciphering complex sensory cues. Common detection schemes in animals ranging from insects to humans imply that similar fundamental processes are involved in extracting important information from the environment. Moreover, by identifying mechanisms by which groups of neurons detect relevant cues from complex stimuli, it will be possible to design better biologically-inspired artificial systems capable of adaptable, self-guided navigation. My laboratory studies responses of identified neurons in the accessible insect nervous system to relevant visual and odour cues. Specifically, we are interested in how information is processed for production of flight steering manoeuvres. Flight is a complex behaviour that requires rapid detection and processing of complex sensory signals. This behaviour is also controlled by relatively few neurons, making it accessible to rigourous experimental manipulation. For example, we are able to examine how identified visual neurons respond to multiple objects that may or may not represent a danger to the animal. By combining multichannel recording and virtual reality techniques we will be able to study behavioural and multineuronal responses during presentation of realistic complex scenes. This will allow us to identify how the nervous system detects important sensory cues and how those cues are used to generate an appropriate behavioural response. Results will be important in understanding fundamental principles of the neural control of behaviour and could be incorporated into control strategies for artificial systems.