Neuronal correlates of social behavior - an electrophysiological study on fighting crickets

人们对复杂的神经元回路产生适应性社会行为的潜在机制知之甚少。拟议项目的主要目标是解开蟋蟀攻击性中依赖经验的可塑性的细胞关联。我想记录这些群居昆虫的神经元在不同的决策过程中和在不同的社会经历之后的反应特性。为了实现这一目标，我将使用一种新建立的技术从自由行为和相互作用的蟋蟀大脑中的神经元进行长期(数天)、慢性细胞外多单位记录，并尽可能将其与使用传统技术来自肌肉、神经和神经节连接的长期记录结合起来，以及正在进行的活动的视频记录。这项研究的这些结果将有助于理解不同的社会经历(如赢和输)和由此产生的行为状态(攻击性/顺从)如何影响大脑中的神经元处理，从而影响攻击性的表达。板球攻击性是研究社会行为神经关联的理想模型系统。蟋蟀以一种非常刻板的方式升级。它们通过利用神经调节的力量来做出适应性的行为决定，它们的攻击性表达的程度可以通过触角和宫颈的刺激进行微调。这个项目的两个主要目标是解开神经元在哪里、如何以及在哪些经验依赖的条件下控制攻击性运动表现，以及阐明来自对手的感觉输入是在哪里以及如何处理的。基本上可以认为有三个关键的大脑中枢参与了昆虫攻击的控制，触角神经毛，中央复合体和蘑菇体。触角神经索是引发攻击的第一个中继站，中央复合体和蘑菇体是已知的控制运动输出和处理感觉输入的大脑区域。为了确定神经元活动的作用，我将比较自然打斗中的多个单位的大脑记录与神经元对触角和颈部刺激的反应。通过这种方法，我的目标是探索特定大脑中心在启动、调整、维持和终止细胞水平上的攻击行为中的作用。我预计，行为、药理学和电生理技术的结合应用将为如何在细胞水平上控制攻击性提供全新的见解。

Little is known about the underlying mechanisms followed by complex neuronal circuits to generate adaptive social behavior. The main objective of the proposed project is to unravel cellular correlates for experience dependent plasticity in aggression of crickets. I want to record response properties of neurons of these social insects during different decision making processes and after various social experiences. To achieve this I will make long term (days), chronic extracellular multi-unit recordings from neurons in the brains of freely behaving and interacting crickets using a newly established technique and wherever possible combine this with chronic recordings from muscles, nerves and ganglion connectives using conventional techniques, and video recordings of ongoing activity. These results of this study will lead to an understanding of how different social experiences (e.g. winning, losing) and resultant behavioral states (aggressive/ submissive) influence neuronal processing in the brain and thereby the expression of aggression. Cricket aggression constitutes an ideal model system for studying neural correlates of social behavior. Crickets escalate in a very stereotyped manner. They make adaptive behavioral decisions by exploiting the power of neuromodulation and the degree of their aggressive expression can be fine tuned by antennal and cercal stimulations. The two main objectives of this project are to unravel where, how and under which experience-dependent conditions neurons control aggressive motor performances and to elucidate where and how sensory inputs from opponents are processed. Basically three key brain centers can be considered as being involved in the control of insect aggression, antennal neuropils, the central complex and the mushroom bodies. Antennal neuropil is the first relay station for eliciting aggression and the central complex and the mushroom bodies are brain areas that are known to control motor output and to process sensory inputs. To identify the role of neuronal activity I will compare multi-unit brain recordings during natural fights with neuronal responses to antennal and cercal stimulation. Using this approach I aim to explore the roles of specific brain centers in initiating, tuning, maintaining and terminating aggressive behavior at the cellular level. I anticipate that the application of combined behavioral, pharmacological and electrophysiological techniques will provide completely new insights into how aggression is controlled at the cellular level.