Event Details:
Stanford Neurosciences Institute Seminar Series Presents
Neural Circuits for Adaptive Behaviors
Vanessa Ruta, PhD
Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University
Host: Helen Yang (Clandinin Lab)
Abstract
Animal behavior arises from an interplay between instinct and learning. Certain behaviors are innate and invariant across members of a species, suggesting they are genetically programmed into the nervous system. However, behavior must also be highly flexible to accommodate ongoing changes to an individual's external environment or internal needs. My lab has been working to elucidate the organization and function of neural circuits that underlie innate and learned responses in the fruit fly Drosophila, an insect that exhibits a rich repertoire of behaviors mediated by a relatively simple nervous system. I will describe recent studies examining how neural circuits in the fly can be rapidly modified through learning or over the course of evolution to generate individual and species-specific adaptations in behavior.