An Introduction to Drosophila Neuroscience - Lecture 1

Explore the fascinating world of Drosophila neuroscience in this comprehensive lecture by Katherine Nagel, part of the ICTP-ICTS Winter School on Quantitative Systems Biology. Delve into the advantages of using Drosophila as a model organism, including its compact genome, fast reproduction time, and sophisticated genetic tools. Discover how the fruit fly's nervous system processes sensory information, focusing on olfaction and motion vision. Learn about the mushroom body's role in odor learning and memory, and understand how directional motion is computed within the fly's brain. Gain insights into cutting-edge research techniques, including connectomics, electrophysiology, and genetic manipulation, that are advancing our understanding of neural circuits and behavior. This lecture provides a solid foundation for students and researchers interested in quantitative approaches to systems neuroscience.

Quantitative high throughput and single fly behaviors
Compact genome
Fast reproduction time
Modular expression systems
Driver line libraries
Effector libraries
Sophisticated developmental tools
Connectomics
An example: From odor encoding to odor learning
Olfaction is a major cue for insects
How do olfactory neurons detect odor molecules?
Each odor is represented by a different pattern of receptor neuron activation
Different smells produce different patterns of brain activation
The mushroom body is required for learned but not innate odor avoidance
The mushroom body maps odor inputs onto motor outputs
Some mushroom body outputs drive attraction and others drive aversion
Each output neuron is modulated by its own dopamine neuron
When dopamine neurons fire after an odor, mushroom body responses to that odor decrease
Neurons that produce innate avoidance are required for attractive memory and vice versa
Another example: Motion vision
Directional motion is computed within the brain
How does this computation happen?
ON and OFF pathways in the visual system
Reconstructing the visual pathway
Electrophysiology from T4/T5 neurons
Inhibition, not multiplication, generates direction selectivity
Matched filters for optic flow
From photoreceptors to feature detectors