|
|
|
The Use of optogenetics to decipher the neuronal connectivity underlying sensory integrat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alfonso Martin-Peña
|
|
|
|
McKnight Brain Institute
|
Department of Neurology, Center for Smell and Taste, McKnight Brain Institute, USF, Gainsville, 32610 USA
|
|
alfonso.m.pena@ufl.edu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At the present time, neuroscience has significantly strengthened efforts to understand the complexity of the human brain. Neuroscientists aim to develop a brain activity map that identifies the functional connections of each individual neuron, as well as each neuron's role in processing electrically-coded information. The olfactory system of Drosophila melanogaster is ideally suited for studying how sensory information is integrated as it passes through consecutive layers of neuronal networks. A vast body of work has been carried out on the structure and morphology of the olfactory pathway, with much focus on the Kenyon cells (KC) of the mushroom body (MB). However, until now, studies of neuronal connectivity in flies have been limited by the constraints of anatomical techniques. Classical anatomical techniques assume that structures in physical contact are physiologically connected, nonetheless these may or may not be functional connections. Recently developed...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|