# Neural Circuits Underlying Multisensory Control of Orientation in Drosophila

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $381,667

## Abstract

Project Summary!
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:** 10405635
- **Project number:** 5R01DC017979-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Katherine Nagel
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $381,667
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10405635

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10405635, Neural Circuits Underlying Multisensory Control of Orientation in Drosophila (5R01DC017979-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10405635. Licensed CC0.

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