Biophysical approaches to complex navigational behaviors in larval Drosophila mel

梅尔果蝇幼虫复杂导航行为的生物物理方法

基本信息

批准号：
7692902
负责人：
ARAVINTHAN D. SAMUEL
金额：
$ 84万
依托单位：
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2008
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2008-09-30 至 2013-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

项目摘要

Abstract The ultimate goal of neural science is to understand how interaction between the peripheral and central nervous systems gives rise to human behavior, how sensory information is processed in our brain and memory to stimulate action. But, as human behavior is mediated by a brain with over 100 billion neurons, a comprehensive and integrative approach all the way from sensory input to motor output is currently unimaginable. The fruit fly Drosophila, with sensory modalities, neural circuits, and complex behaviors that are strongly evolutionarily conserved, has emerged as a model system for neural research. Drosophila is simple enough to be tractable, yet complex enough to be scientifically interesting as well as biomedically relevant. This research program will create new paradigms for understanding perception and voluntary action using larval Drosophila, which has unique advantages for this study. In preliminary work, we have used a novel tracking system to quantify the algorithms that underlie larval chemotactic, phototactic, and thermotactic behavior. Using genetic tools provided by our collaborators and new tools that we are developing for optical physiology and behavior quantification in freely moving animals, we will investigate how pathways within the larval brain use information gathered across the larvum?s sensory periphery to make decisions and result in physical behavior. These individual sensory modality studies are the first steps to understanding this model system?s deeper complexities, the behavioral principles and neural encoding behind the brain?s synthesis of the separate environmental representations provided by multiple senses to result in purposeful and coherent behavior.

抽象的神经科学的最终目标是了解外围与外围之间的相互作用如何中枢神经系统产生了人类的行为，如何处理感官信息我们的大脑和记忆以刺激动作。但是，由于人类行为是由大脑介导的超过1000亿个神经元，从感官到一种全面而综合的方法目前，电动机输出输入不可想象。果蝇果蝇，具有感官强烈进化保守的方式，神经回路和复杂行为，已成为神经研究的模型系统。果蝇足够简单，可以进行操作，足够复杂，可以在科学上有趣，并且具有生物医学相关。这研究计划将创建新的范式，以理解感知和自愿性使用幼虫果蝇的作用，该果蝇在这项研究中具有独特的优势。在初步工作中，我们已经使用了一个新颖的跟踪系统来量化幼虫的基础的算法趋化性，光疗法和热效应行为。使用我们提供的遗传工具我们正在为光学生理和行为开发的合作者和新工具在自由移动的动物中进行定量，我们将研究幼虫内的途径大脑使用信息聚集在幼虫的感官外围，做出决定和导致身体行为。这些单独的感官方式研究是了解此模型系统的更深的复杂性，行为原理和神经在大脑的综合中编码提供的单独的环境表示通过多种感官导致有目的和连贯的行为。