Navigating the Fruit Fly Brain

Navigating the Fruit Fly Brain PDF Author: Tyler Arnt Ofstad
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781124584164
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
How does an animal know where it is, and where it is going? While the impressive navigation abilities of ants, bees, wasps, and other insects clearly demonstrate that insects are capable of visual place learning, little is known about the underlying neural circuits that mediate these behaviors. Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism for dissecting the neural circuitry underlying complex behaviors, from sensory perception to learning and memory. Flies can identify and remember visual features such as size, color, and contour orientation. However, the extent to which they use vision to navigate and recall specific locations remains unclear. In this dissertation, I will : 1) describe the development of a novel place learning assay for investigating spatial memories in Drosophila ; 2) present evidence that fruit flies are capable of forming and recalling spatial memories ; 3) demonstrate that neurons in the central complex are necessary for visual place learning and 4) show that silencing these cells specifically impairs place learning without affecting other sensory or motor systems. Together, these studies reveal distinct neuroanatomical substrates for spatial versus non-spatial learning, and substantiate Drosophila as a powerful model for the study of spatial memories.

Navigating the Fruit Fly Brain

Navigating the Fruit Fly Brain PDF Author: Tyler Arnt Ofstad
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781124584164
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Get Book Here

Book Description
How does an animal know where it is, and where it is going? While the impressive navigation abilities of ants, bees, wasps, and other insects clearly demonstrate that insects are capable of visual place learning, little is known about the underlying neural circuits that mediate these behaviors. Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism for dissecting the neural circuitry underlying complex behaviors, from sensory perception to learning and memory. Flies can identify and remember visual features such as size, color, and contour orientation. However, the extent to which they use vision to navigate and recall specific locations remains unclear. In this dissertation, I will : 1) describe the development of a novel place learning assay for investigating spatial memories in Drosophila ; 2) present evidence that fruit flies are capable of forming and recalling spatial memories ; 3) demonstrate that neurons in the central complex are necessary for visual place learning and 4) show that silencing these cells specifically impairs place learning without affecting other sensory or motor systems. Together, these studies reveal distinct neuroanatomical substrates for spatial versus non-spatial learning, and substantiate Drosophila as a powerful model for the study of spatial memories.

Brain Development in Drosophila melanogaster

Brain Development in Drosophila melanogaster PDF Author: Gerhard Martin Technau
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387782613
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is an ideal model system to study processes of the central nervous system This book provides an overview of some major facets of recent research on Drosophila brain development.

Arthropod Brains

Arthropod Brains PDF Author: Nicholas James Strausfeld
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674046331
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 849

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Book Description
In The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin proposed that an ant’s brain, no larger than a pin’s head, must be sophisticated to accomplish all that it does. Yet today many people still find it surprising that insects and other arthropods show behaviors that are much more complex than innate reflexes. They are products of versatile brains which, in a sense, think. Fascinating in their own right, arthropods provide fundamental insights into how brains process and organize sensory information to produce learning, strategizing, cooperation, and sociality. Nicholas Strausfeld elucidates the evolution of this knowledge, beginning with nineteenth-century debates about how similar arthropod brains were to vertebrate brains. This exchange, he shows, had a profound and far-reaching impact on attitudes toward evolution and animal origins. Many renowned scientists, including Sigmund Freud, cut their professional teeth studying arthropod nervous systems. The greatest neuroanatomist of them all, Santiago Ramón y Cajal—founder of the neuron doctrine—was awed by similarities between insect and mammalian brains. Writing in a style that will appeal to a broad readership, Strausfeld weaves anatomical observations with evidence from molecular biology, neuroethology, cladistics, and the fossil record to explore the neurobiology of the largest phylum on earth—and one that is crucial to the well-being of our planet. Highly informative and richly illustrated, Arthropod Brains offers an original synthesis drawing on many fields, and a comprehensive reference that will serve biologists for years to come.

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster)

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) PDF Author: Josh Dubnau
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107009030
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
A comprehensive portrayal of the behaviour genetics of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the methods used in these studies.

The Insect Central Complex – From Sensory Coding to Directing Movement

The Insect Central Complex – From Sensory Coding to Directing Movement PDF Author: Stanley Heinze
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889455785
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description


Gap Junctions in the Nervous System

Gap Junctions in the Nervous System PDF Author: David C. Spray
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662219352
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This book deals with the types of gap junction proteins (connexins) and their distribution within the nervous system, the physiological properties of channels formed of each connexin, and the role of gap junction channels in functions of normal and pathological brain and peripheral nerve. Although glial tissue is emphasized, additional groups of chapters deal with neurons in the central nervous system and with the retina.

Orientation and Communication in Arthropods

Orientation and Communication in Arthropods PDF Author: Miriam Lehrer
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3034888783
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
The present volume deals with the most fascinating aspects of sensory performance studied in insects, crustaceans and spiders. Arthropods inhabit practically every conceivable ecological niche, and are perfectly adapted to cope with the constraints of their natural habitats. They move on the ground, in water, and in the air. They use visual, olfactory, acoustical, vibratory, and tactile cues for orientation, to recognize and pinpoint their target, their home place, a feeding site, a prey, or a potential mate. Many arthropods use celestial (skylight) and terrestrial (magnetic) compass cues for orientation, and some of them were shown to develop, through experience, oriented behaviours based on a variety of innate, hard-wired orientation mechanisms. In many cases, aspects of behaviour that are involved in orientation cannot be separated from inter- and intraspecific communication. The book brings to the fore the role of communication not only in social and sexual behaviours, but also in the context of oriented locomotion. Top, internationally renowned scientists have contributed to this volume and have succeeded in presenting a book full of highlights which will be of great interest to workers in this field of research. With contributions by F. G. Barth; D. von Helverson, K.-E. Kaissling, W. Kirchner, M. Walker, M. Weissburg, R. Campan, T. Collett, J. Zeil, K. Kirschfeld, R. Wehner, M. Srinivasan, M. Lehrer, R. Gadagkar.

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication PDF Author: Carla Mucignat-Caretta
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466553413
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 614

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Book Description
Intraspecific communication involves the activation of chemoreceptors and subsequent activation of different central areas that coordinate the responses of the entire organism—ranging from behavioral modification to modulation of hormones release. Animals emit intraspecific chemical signals, often referred to as pheromones, to advertise their presence to members of the same species and to regulate interactions aimed at establishing and regulating social and reproductive bonds. In the last two decades, scientists have developed a greater understanding of the neural processing of these chemical signals. Neurobiology of Chemical Communication explores the role of the chemical senses in mediating intraspecific communication. Providing an up-to-date outline of the most recent advances in the field, it presents data from laboratory and wild species, ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates, from insects to humans. The book examines the structure, anatomy, electrophysiology, and molecular biology of pheromones. It discusses how chemical signals work on different mammalian and non-mammalian species and includes chapters on insects, Drosophila, honey bees, amphibians, mice, tigers, and cattle. It also explores the controversial topic of human pheromones. An essential reference for students and researchers in the field of pheromones, this is also an ideal resource for those working on behavioral phenotyping of animal models and persons interested in the biology/ecology of wild and domestic species.

First in Fly

First in Fly PDF Author: Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674984730
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
A single species of fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been the subject of scientific research for more than one hundred years. Why does this tiny insect merit such intense scrutiny? Drosophila’s importance as a research organism began with its short life cycle, ability to reproduce in large numbers, and easy-to-see mutant phenotypes. Over time, laboratory investigation revealed surprising similarities between flies and other animals at the level of genes, gene networks, cell interactions, physiology, immunity, and behavior. Like humans, flies learn and remember, fight microbial infection, and slow down as they age. Scientists use Drosophila to investigate complex biological activities in a simple but intact living system. Fly research provides answers to some of the most challenging questions in biology and biomedicine, including how cells transmit signals and form ordered structures, how we can interpret the wealth of human genome data now available, and how we can develop effective treatments for cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Written by a leader in the Drosophila research community, First in Fly celebrates key insights uncovered by investigators using this model organism. Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr draws on these “first in fly” findings to introduce fundamental biological concepts gained over the last century and explore how research in the common fruit fly has expanded our understanding of human health and disease.

Avian Navigation

Avian Navigation PDF Author: F. Papi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642686168
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Right from the start of this century, field observations and the patient ringing of birds have made available a growing mass of data on the breeding and resting areas of migratory species and on the course, period and duration of their seasonal flights. Considered as a whole, this work on migration morphology commands admiration, and when view ed in detail it reveals fascinating insights into the extraordinary naviga tional performances of many bird species, which find their way over enormous distances. Yet only a few dozen physiologists are actively trying to answer the question of how these performances are achieved. Experimental work on migratory birds raises many difficulties, some of them insuperable, so that many researchers carry out their experiments on the homing pigeon, which is constantly motivated by homesickness and ready to display its ability to flyaway home. Many of the problems connected with bird navigation are still un solved, but a rapidly growing body of results is being produced along with a variety of new ideas and approaches. A clear majority of the stu dents of bird navigation met in September 1981 in Tirrenia, a seaside resort on the Tyrrhenian coast, where each of them offered new in sights into his or her recent investigations. Their contributions have been connected in this volume, which provides an up-to-date conspec tus of the stage reached by research in this field.