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SUMMARY:Towards a brain architecture for visual behavior selection - Gwyne
 th Card\, HHMI Janelia Research Campus\, Virginia\, USA
DTSTART:20191014T153000Z
DTEND:20191014T170000Z
UID:TALK132055@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Marisa Parsonage
DESCRIPTION:Selecting the right behavior at the right time is critical for
  animal survival.  Animals rely on their senses to deliver information abo
 ut the environment to sensory processing areas in the brain that extract r
 elevant features and form the perceptual representations that guide behavi
 or.  We aim to uncover the organization of this feature space and the neur
 al mechanisms by which these cues are translated into dynamic motor activi
 ty.  Our current focus is visually-driven behaviors of the fly.  In partic
 ular\, those driven by visual looming cues produced by an approaching pred
 ator or an imminent collision.  The same looming stimulus can evoke a wide
  range of different behaviors\, including a rapid escape jump\, a slower\,
  more stable takeoff sequence\, or a landing response.  As part of the Jan
 elia Descending Interneuron Project Team\, we have created a library of tr
 ansgenic fly lines that target the descending neuron population with cell-
 type specificity.  We use these genetic tools along with whole-cell patch 
 clamp physiology in behaving flies\, calcium imaging\, and high-throughput
 /high-resolution behavioral assays to examine the transformation of inform
 ation from sensory to motor and how this transformation is modified by con
 text\, such as behavioral state.  I will discuss our recent work investiga
 ting the representation of ethologically-relevant visual features in the f
 ly optic glomeruli and the mechanisms by which descending neurons read out
  this feature information to produce an appropriate behavioral choice.
LOCATION:The Hodgkin Huxley Seminar Room\, Department of Physiology Develo
 pment and Neuroscience
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