How do neural circuits guide our behavior? The answers promise to? revolutionize our understanding of what it means to be human and how to repair the? damaged neural circuits that underlie human neurological and psychiatric disorders.? The incredible complexity of the mammalian brain, however, coupled with limited ability? to genetically manipulate specific neural circuits in vertebrates, has made our progress? difficult. My lab is developing new approaches that will rejuvenate this effort. We take? advantage of the fact that many basic neural computations are evolutionarily ancient:? invertebrates are capable of some of the same computations that humans are. This? enables us to study processes familiar to vertebrate physiologists using the fruit fly, an? animal with a relatively simple, genetically hard-wired nervous system. As a model? genetic system, Drosophila offers a complex, interesting behavioral repertoire combined? with an extensive toolkit for both forward and reverse genetic analysis. Our goal is to? provide a complete mechanistic understanding of how visual information is processed at? the level of identified cells and circuits. In preliminary work, we have developed new? behavioral paradigms that allow high-throughput, automated forward genetic screens to? identify neurons specifically involved in such processes as motion detection and color? perception. To define the behavioral contributions of these functionally important? neurons, we are adapting analytical techniques from ion channel biophysics and? systems neuroscience to the analysis of fly behavior. Using new molecular and? electrophysiological techniques that we will develop, we propose to link circuit anatomy? to circuit function, and to define how changes in the activities of functionally important? neurons lead to behavioral decisions. These studies will provide the first synthesis? linking a sensory input to a behavioral output, through the functions of specific? molecules, neurons and circuits. ?
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