# Neural Circuits Underlying Multisensory Control of Orientation in Drosophila

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $96,513

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
How the brain combines sensory stimuli from different modalities to guide behavior is currently not
understood at a single-cell level. Here we propose to use the model organism Drosophila to investigate the
neural circuit basis of multi-sensory integration in the context of two specific orientation behaviors developed
in our lab. In one paradigm, odor switches the orientation of walking flies to a wind (mechanosensory) cue:
flies orient downwind in the absence of odor and upwind in the presence of an attractive odor. In the second
paradigm, an aversive wind stimulus and attractive visual stimulus sum to guide orientation of a tethered
flying fly. We have discovered a novel mechanosensory pathway that computes wind direction from
movements of the fly's antennae, and transmits this information to the central complex, a region of the brain
implicated in navigation. Combined with information from the literature and preliminary data from our own
lab, this suggests a model for how different sensory streams might be aligned and integrated within the
central complex. We propose to use optogenetic activation, chemogenetic silencing, whole-cell
electrophysiology, and functional imaging to test the role of candidate central complex neurons in multi-
sensory control of orientation. We will additionally test the alternative hypothesis that multi-sensory
integration in descending neurons is required for the two behaviors. This study will provide a comprehensive
cellular-level account of how sensory streams are combined to control the orientation of a model organism.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10346734
- **Project number:** 3R01DC017979-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Katherine Nagel
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $96,513
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10346734

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10346734, Neural Circuits Underlying Multisensory Control of Orientation in Drosophila (3R01DC017979-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10346734. Licensed CC0.

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