CourtEscape · Neural Mechanisms of Action-Selection During Sensory Conflict
„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“
- Период
- 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 212 934 €
- Участници
- 1
- Схема
- MSCA-IF
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.
Накратко на български
Невронните механизми при мъжките плодови мухи определят как те избират между размножаването и бягството при едновременна заплаха. Разбирането на този избор помага за развитието на изкуствения интелект и изследванията върху психичното здраве и невродегенеративните заболявания.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Neural Mechanisms of Action-Selection During Sensory Conflict
The CourtEscape project aimed to understand how male Drosophila melanogaster resolve sensory conflicts between reproduction and survival. Specifically, it focused on neural mechanisms involved in choosing between courtship behaviors and escaping threats. This addresses a fundamental question in behavioral neuroscience: how animals balance competing priorities, such as the need to reproduce versus avoiding predators. Understanding these mechanisms holds great value for society. It can lead to advancements in neuroscience applications across fields such as artificial intelligence, neurodegenerative disease research, and mental health by enhancing our knowledge of decision-making in the face of competing priorities. The main objectives were: - Objective 1: Identify neurons that determine whether male flies choose courtship or escape when presented with conflicting stimuli. - Objective 2: Characterize neural circuitry mechanisms underpinning these action selections. - Objective 3: Explore how environmental and internal state variables influence this choice.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
Prioritising the most urgent goal according to the context and physiological needs is crucial for the success of any organism. Action-selection processes are often disrupted in neuropathologies, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and addiction; however, the underlying neuronal mechanisms are not well understood. Crucially, how the brain evaluates sensory conflicting options and selects an appropriate action remains unknown. I will tackle this question using a novel assay in which Drosophila fruit fly males are confronted with visual threats during courtship, which creates a conflict between survival and reproduction. Capitalising on refined genetic tools, I aim to unravel neural mechanisms that govern the selection between competing options. I will carry out a behavioural screen to identify neurons that allow the fly to choose between courting a mate and escaping a threat. From an in silico screen of Gal4 fly lines targeting defined cells, I will select lines based on their potential connectivity with courtship-command neurons. Using optogenetic tools, I will identify neurons that, when activated or inhibited, prevent males from blocking courtship in response to the threat. Next, I will ask if these cells respond to the threat in live Ca2+ imaging studies, and test if they are linked with the courtship circuitry using pre and post-synaptic markers and GRASP (to test potential synaptic connections). To probe if candidate neurons are functionally linked, I will manipulate the activity of upstream cells, and test the responses in downstream cells with Ca2+ imaging. This will allow me to build a map of the neural network of action-selection. Finally, I will test how external and internal state variables modulate action-selection. This study will provide insights into fundamental brain processes that may work in other animals, including humans.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM · BirminghamКоординаторОбединеното кралство
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз