RDP

A fundamental scientific problem of our time is to understand how brains integrate present sensory stimuli, past experience, and future behavioral options. This research unit wants to understand how adaptive behavior is organized through the properties of single neurons, their synapses, and the neural circuits the neurons are part of... Previous research has treated these three levels largely in separation. A combination of new tools such as optogenetics, cell-specific transgene expression, connectomics and modeling now paves the way to understand brains as integrated systems for the control of behavior. For such an endeavor, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is particularly suitable. It combines brain simplicity, behavioral richness, and experimental accessibility. As a paradigmatic case of how a central brain structure brings about adaptive behavior, this research unit focuses on the mushroom body.

Primary location: Göttingen Germany