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SUMMARY:Neural mechanisms of behavioral switches - Dr. Arantza Barrios\, D
 epartment of Cell and Developmental Biology\, University College London 
DTSTART:20161006T130000Z
DTEND:20161006T140000Z
UID:TALK67534@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Caroline Newnham
DESCRIPTION:One of the most fascinating properties of the brain is its abi
 lity to translate one sensory stimulus into distinct\, sometimes opposite\
 , behavioural outputs. This plasticity is what enables animals to learn an
 d to couple behaviour to their ever-changing needs. I will present the wor
 k that we carry out in my lab\, where we use the C. elegans male to identi
 fy the molecular and cellular mechanisms that allow hard-wired circuits to
  generate flexible behavior. We have identified secretin neuropeptide sign
 aling as a conserved mechanism for the generation of behavioural states of
  arousal and innate drives. PDF modulates food sensory perception at the c
 ircuit level driving mate-deprived males to explore away from food and in 
 search of mates. More recently\, we have found a developmental mechanism f
 or neural circuit remodeling which couples chemotactic responses to new re
 productive priorities. We find that\, during sexual maturation\, different
 iated\, functional glial cells re-enter the cell cycle to produce a sex-sp
 ecific class of interneurons. These interneurons are required for integrat
 ion of rewarding mating experiences during associative learning leading ma
 les to switch their behavioural responses to odours and tastants from repu
 lsion to attraction.\n\n
LOCATION:Biffen Lecture Theatre\, Department of Genetics\, Downing Site
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