Summary
Research into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying persistent internal states of motivation, arousal, and reward, and their valence, using Drosophila P1 interneurons as a model to understand neuromodulatory control of goal-directed behavior.
What they want
The project will continue studies on how P1 neurons promote a rewarding internal state, focusing on Aims 3 and 4 of the base grant. Aim 3 involves testing the hypothesis that P1 neuron activation is positively valenced and rewarding, investigating plasticity during conditioned olfactory preference (COP) and the necessity of P1 neurons for COP expression. Aim 4 investigates neuromodulatory mechanisms involved in P1 reward learning, confirming and extending findings on dopamine's role, and exploring other biogenic amines like octopamine, as well as the involvement of mushroom body (MB) neurons in P1-mediated odor conditioning. Merit Extension Aim 5 will investigate the role of other neuromodulators (serotonergic neurons, neuropeptide F) in P1-induced persistent social arousal and reward learning, using functional connectomics (optogenetic activation of P1 neurons combined with calcium imaging in putative neuromodulatory targets, and identification of genetic drivers via PA-GFP and morphology) and whole-mount fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for hr38 and neurotransmitter/neuropeptide probes. Merit Extension Aim 6 will investigate the role of pCd neurons in P1-mediated reward learning and how dopamine modulates their persistent activation.
Technical requirements
- Optogenetic activation of P1 neurons
- Calcium imaging in populations of target cells
- Photo-activatable GFP (PA-GFP) for cell filling and morphology identification
- Real-time place preference (RTPP) assays
- Conditioned olfactory preference (COP) assays
- Functional manipulations of pCd cells
- Whole-mount fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in adult Drosophila brain
- Double-label FISH using hr38 and probes for neurotransmitter biosynthetic enzymes or neuropeptides
