Project Details
Projekt
The control of song pattern generation in Drosophila: Circuit mechanisms and sensory modulation
Applicant
Dr. Frederic Römschied
Subject Area
Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Term
from 2018 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 404281558
Understanding how nervous systems generate complex behaviors is incredibly challenging: We have to understand which neurons generate behavior, how they control muscle activity, and how sensory feedback modulates the activity of these neurons.To approach this problem, previous studies have focused on comparatively small nervous systems that facilitate identification of central pattern generators (CPGs) that drive behavior. Examples include the locust and the crab, for which the CPGs driving flight and chewing, respectively, have been identified. Notably, in these examples physiological temperature was used to characterize CPG robustness, revealing cellular mechanisms that enable ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals to maintain vital behaviors across the temperatures they live in. Yet, these studies were limited in the range of tools available to monitor and manipulate neuronal activity.The availability of genetic tools for neuronal identification and manipulation, and the possibility of high-throughput behavioral experiments, render the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster an ideal subject for studies of the neural basis of behavior. Also, fruit flies engage in complex social behaviors: During courtship, the male fly chases the female while vibrating his wing to produce courtship song. If the song is attractive to the female, she will slow down to facilitate mating. Recent evidence suggests that male flies dynamically update song structure based on visual feedback from the female. While genetic screens have identified neurons of the male’s song-production circuit, we lack a functional characterization of the song circuit. In particular, we do not understand how neuronal activity shapes song dynamics. Further, we do not know how sensory feedback modulates activity of the song circuit in order to rapidly adjust song statistics.I will hence study how courtship dynamics are shaped by patterned activity of neural circuits:First, I will assay the influence of temperature on song dynamics. This will help to understand whether courtship is robust across the temperatures fruit flies experience. I will particularly address how temperature influences the feedback the male receives from the female, and how this affects his song dynamics.Second, I will use optogenetic activation of neurons in the song circuit to systematically characterize the functional contribution of these neurons to song dynamics. This will help to understand how song is shaped by patterned activity of individual neurons.Third, I will use closed-loop optogenetic activation (meaning the activation is triggered on certain aspects of the male’s song) to assess how feedback shapes song dynamics. This will be important to understand how sensory feedback from the female is rapidly transformed by the male song circuit to changes in his song dynamics.
DFG Programme
Research Fellowships
International Connection
USA
