Synaptic Targeting in Hard-Wired Neural Circuits Underlying an Innate Behavior

突触目标是如何在硬连接的神经回路中预先指定的？我们提出的研究计划将解决关于突触靶向特异性的分子和细胞机制的几个主要问题，以更好地理解基因如何编码先天行为。这些项目将确定分子如何改变突触回路，以及这如何改变动物的感知和行为。为了研究这些问题，我们将在果蝇中使用高分辨率体内成像结合遗传操作和行为分析，对硬连线刻板神经回路中单个可识别神经元的突触靶向决策进行成像。具体而言，我们将：

How are synaptic targets pre-specified in a hard-wired neural circuit? Our proposed research program will address several major questions about the molecular and cellular mechanisms of synaptic targeting specificity to better understand how genes can encode innate behaviors. These projects will determine how molecules can alter a synaptic circuit, and how this changes the animal's perception and behavior. To examine these questions we will image the synaptic targeting decisions of single, identifiable neurons in a hard-wired stereotyped neural circuit using high-resolution in vivo imaging combined with genetic manipulations and behavioral assays in Drosophila. Specifically, we will: 1) Investigate the functions of different neural receptor molecules in synapse targeting and circuit function. 2) Characterize the cellular mechanisms of hard-wired synaptic targeting decisions using 2-photon in vivo time-lapse imaging during Drosophila development. Addressing these questions will allow fundamental insights into how genes control pre-specified synaptic targeting decisions and how differences in connectivity affect the output of a neural circuit. These experiments will be the first step in understanding the precision of molecules in guiding the finer targeting decisions of neural circuit formation and provide a framework for elucidating the different mechanisms of synapse targeting specificity.