# Developmental and functional analysis of neural circuits controlling navigation in Drosophila

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2024 · $17,287

## Abstract

Summary
One of the most pressing research goals in neurobiology is to understand how brain circuits develop, and how
these circuits control the behavior of an animal. This problem is of general importance if one wants to
understand, and (therapeutically) manipulate, brain circuitry in a medical setting. A prerequisite to attain this
goal is (1) the detailed mapping of complete neuron assemblies that embody specific circuits, and (2) the
availability of precision tools for functional studies. Both of these conditions are now met for Drosophila.
Complete connectomes (digital maps that contain all brain neurons and their synaptic connections) exist for
both the larval stage (funded in part by this grant in previous years) and the adult. And in addition, genetic tools
have been developed that allow one to manipulate (that is, silence, or activate) virtually every neuron, or at
least neuron class, and test for the effect on specific behaviors that one is interested in. The strategy then is to
extract from the connectome a wiring diagram of a specific circuit, develop hypotheses of how the different
elements in the circuit interact, and use genetic tools to test these hypotheses.
 Studies of this proposal focus on a Drosophila brain circuit involved in navigation. Animals navigate in
response to sensory stimuli in order to find food and mating partners, or avoid danger. Brain centers controlling
navigation require processed, multimodal sensory input (smells, visual cues) which are integrated with
proprioceptive input (feed back from muscles, joints etc) to calculate the commands required to steer the
animal in the right direction. Our analysis of the larval connectome highlights a brain center called the lateral
accessory lobe (LAL) as a focus of interest. We have identified the relevant LAL neuron classes and their
connections, and are in the process to systematically screen for genetic constructs with which we can target
these neuron classes to do functional studies. Larvae have a simple, highly quantifiable navigation behavior
that allows them to find a food source (by odor) or avoid light. We will analyze how the LAL controls motor
circuits that carry out this behavior.
 The second and third objective of the proposal is to study how the larval LAL neurons become
modified and incorporated in the LAL of the adult. Adult flies have a new set of organs (e.g., wings, legs) with
which to move, and receptors with which to sense; but according to our initial data, the larval neurons remain
and have to adapt to cope with their new input and output. Using the connectome of the adult brain and our
genetic tools we intend to identify the descendants of larval neurons in the LAL, and to address their function in
adult navigation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11089253
- **Project number:** 3R01NS054814-16S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** VOLKER HARTENSTEIN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $17,287
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2006-02-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11089253

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11089253, Developmental and functional analysis of neural circuits controlling navigation in Drosophila (3R01NS054814-16S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11089253. Licensed CC0.

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