Neurophysiological correlates of swarming behaviour in desert locusts.

沙漠蝗虫血吸虫是一种可以成群的蝗虫。由于蝗虫的行为、形态和生理会随着环境的变化而发生变化，蝗虫的这一决定性特征--群的形成或“相变”--就产生了。在低种群密度下，蝗虫相互避开，不会聚集，但随着种群的增长，动物之间的接触使它们开始积极聚集：一个被称为聚集的过程，导致种群螺旋式增长，形成包含数百万或数十亿个体的巨大、连贯和毁灭性的种群。这种显著的行为改变必须通过神经元活动和突触属性的改变(可塑性)来实现，但令人惊讶的是，人们对其中涉及的途径或机制知之甚少。在这个项目中，我们将使用一系列技术，包括体内电生理学，在这个强大的模型系统中检查环境诱导的行为可塑性的神经生理学相关性。成群的蝗虫和非成群的蝗虫对姿势和运动的控制有什么不同？在蜂群形成过程中，差异产生的速度有多快？特定的应激相关分子(‘热休克蛋白’)是否调节肢体控制的可变性和/或在蜂群形成期间发生的变化？

Desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria are grasshoppers that can swarm. This defining characteristic of locusts - swarm formation or 'phase change' - comes about because their behaviour, morphology and physiology change in response to environmental cues. At low population densities, locusts avoid each other and do not swarm, but as populations grow, contact between the animals causes them to begin to actively aggregate: a process called gregarisation that leads to a spiralling population growth and the formation of vast coherent and devastating swarms containing millions or billions of individuals. The remarkable behavioural alterations must come about through modifications (plasticity) of neuronal activity and synaptic properties, but surprisingly little is known about the pathways or mechanisms involved. In this project we will use a range of techniques, including in vivo electrophysiology, to examine the neurophysiological correlates of environmentally-induced behavioural plasticity in this powerful model system. How does the control of posture and locomotion differ between swarming and non-swarming locusts? How quickly do the differences arise during swarm formation? Do particular stress-related molecules ('heat shock proteins') regulate variability in limb control and/or the changes that occur during swarm formation?