Regulation of Lateral Neuron function in Drosophila larvae

描述（由申请人提供）：所有高等生物都处理来自环境的感官线索，并相应地调整其行为以生存。了解感觉处理的神经回路是神经科学的基本目标，并将有助于了解许多人类疾病的基础。果蝇特别适合这种研究，最近开发的遗传工具允许精确操纵基因和神经回路。到目前为止，我们对昼夜节律行为和视觉系统组织的了解大多来自于对果蝇的研究。该建议利用一个定义明确的避光测定幼虫映射视觉行为的神经回路。避光需要侧神经元（LN）的功能，这主要是因为它们作为昼夜节律中枢神经元的作用而被研究。这种行为分析的简单性和鲁棒性，结合幼虫大脑复杂性的降低，使其成为映射行为背后的神经回路的理想系统。通过遗传操作的视觉神经元，LN，和潜在的LN目标神经元，该建议旨在确定精确的电路和神经递质的视觉线索被传递到更高层次的大脑结构。了解LNs控制光回避的机制应该为神经回路如何控制行为提供有价值的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): All higher organisms process sensory cues from the environment and adjust their behavior accordingly in order to survive. Understanding the neural circuits that underlie sensory processing is a fundamental aim of neuroscience, and will help in understanding the basis of many human diseases. Drosophila is particularly amenable to such study and recently developed genetic tools allow for precise manipulation of genes and neural circuits. To date, much of what is known of circadian behavior and visual system organization comes from work in Drosophila. This proposal utilizes a well-defined light avoidance assay in larvae to map the neural circuitry underlying visual behavior. Light avoidance requires function of the lateral neurons (LNs), which have been primarily studied for their role as neurons central to circadian rhythms. The simplicity and robustness of this behavioral assay, in combination with the diminished complexity of the larval brain makes this an ideal system for the mapping of neural circuits underlying behavior. Through genetic manipulation of visual neurons, LNs, and potential LN target neurons, this proposal seeks to determine the precise circuitry and neurotransmitters by which visual cues are transmitted to higher order brain structures. Understanding the mechanism by which LNs govern light avoidance should provide valuable insight into how neural circuits control behavior.