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Alumni Spotlight
Whilst in Cambridge I contributed to tracing neurons and analysing connectivity of the mushroom body. This region of the fly brain is involved in olfactory associative learning and memory. Our subteam in Cambridge collaborated with Scott Waddell’s lab at the University of Oxford. I enjoyed being involved in applying findings […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
February 2019
By Irene Varela February’s neuron of the month is a type of sexually dimorphic neuron known as an aSP-g. In females, aSP-g neurons extend their dendrites (bright green) throughout the lateral horn (yellow), a higher olfactory centre for innate behaviour, whereas in males they do not. This morphological difference explains […]
You’re Hot and You’re Cold
By Elizabeth Marin Anyone who has reached for an extra jumper on a cold morning or sought the shade of a tree on a hot afternoon realises that even warm-blooded animals prefer fairly narrow ranges of temperature and humidity. Mammals have sensory neurons that innervate the skin, among other organs, […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
September 2018
By Konrad Heinz September’s neuron of the month is a B’2a PAM DAN – it is a dopaminergic neuron of the mushroom body. The mushroom body (MB, shown in pink) is a major site of olfactory learning in the fly brain, and dopaminergic neurons (DANs), which release the widely conserved […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
August 2018
By Fiona Love August’s neuron of the month is a large lateral horn (LH) output neuron. Thanks to the resolution of the FAFB data set, we can annotate individual synapses, which tells us how this neuron is carrying information across the brain. This neuron gets most of its input in […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
June 2018
By Philipp Schlegel June’s neuron of the month is one of the excitatory uniglomerular olfactory projection neurons (PN). It receives input from Or82a-expressing sensory neurons in the VA6 glomerulus of the antennal lobe and responds to e.g. ethyl butyrate, a fruity odour. This PN is exemplary for the successful collaboration […]
Connectomics Explained in Six Questions: Third Post, Questions 5-6
By MW Pleijzier In the previous article of this ‘Connectomics Explained’ series, I described the range of approaches involved in connectomic investigation. Microscale, mesoscale and macroscale connectomics all aim to detail the architecture of information flow at different levels of spatial resolution. Any tool in science will advance understanding through […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
May 2018
By A Edmondson-Stait May’s neuron of the month is an ascending neuron relaying information from the subesophageal zone (SEZ) to the superior medial protocerebrum (SMP). The SEZ receives gustatory input from gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs). Axonal projections from GRNs conveying bitter or sweet taste are spatially segregated in the SEZ. […]
Blog Posts, Neuron of the Month
April 2018
By Ruairi Roberts April’s neuron of the month is a novel projection neuron relaying putative mechanosensory information from ventral to dorsal neuropils – the lateral horn (LH) and superior intermediate protocerebrum (SIP). The LH receives extensive olfactory input and recent work from the connectomics group in collaboration with the Jefferis […]
Connectomics Explained in Six Questions: Second Post, Questions 3-4
By MW Pleijzier The previous post in this series introduced the field of connectomics and how it reflects the holistic approaches used by other subfields of biology. Connectomics details the architecture of information flow within highly connected brain networks, enabling neuroscientists to paint a picture of how these complex systems […]