Wiersma Visiting Professor Lecture: Dr. Gerry Rubin

Please join us on Tuesday, February 6 at 4:00PM for the Wiersma Visiting Professor Lecture* in Chen 100.

The talk will be followed by a Chen Social in the lobby of the Chen Neuroscience Research Building.

Wiersma Visiting Professor: Dr. Gerry Rubin

Title: Illustrating the power of connectomics: circuit mechanisms that gate the salience of visual cues in Drosophila

Abstract: Animals use visual information in a context-dependent manner. While neuronal circuits detecting and relaying visual features have been described, we know much less about the circuit mechanisms used to adjust what visual information an animal attends to in response to changes in its internal state. I will describe our use of connectomics and cell-type-specific genetic tools, together with behavioral and physiological analyses, to identify three distinct circuit mechanisms that alter the flow of visual information when female Drosophila enter an aggressive state. Our work provides a compelling example of using the connectome to guide exploration of how a cell type executes a complex task. I will also give a progress report on our ongoing efforts to add information on gap junctions and neuropeptide signaling currently missing in the connectome.

*The lecture and visiting professorship are named for Cornelius Wiersma who came to the Biology Department at Caltech in 1934, representing the field of neurophysiology, a precursor to the field of neurobiology. His scientific career focused first on the neuromuscular system, then on the central nervous system, and finally on the visual system.