Dylan Ross (s0937976)
Thu 31 Mar 2016, 12:45 - 13:45
4.31/33, IF

If you have a question about this talk, please contact: Steph Smith (ssmith32)

The larval form of the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, is an increasingly popular model organism used within neuroscience. Current theories of how this animal locomotes focus on central pattern generating (CPG) networks. These are neural circuits that operate in

"open-loop", producing rhythmic motor signals in the absence of sensory feedback. While it is true that the nervous system of the larva produces rhythmic activity when isolated from the body, behavioural evidence suggests that feedback is essential for execution of a normal motor program.

 

In this talk I will discuss my attempts to model and analyse a decentralised, direct sensory-motor feedback loop which is consistent with known larval anatomy and electrophysiology. Although the neurons within this loop do not display spontaneous activity, when grounded in a model of larval body mechanics they are capable of producing naturalistic locomotion.