# Project 3: Neural Basis of Motion Guidance Loops

> **NIH NIH U19** · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2020 · $526,154

## Abstract

Project 3: The Neural Basis of Motion Guidance Loops
Abstract
The goal of Project 3 is to characterize the third level of four nested control loops, namely the Neural
Basis of Motion Guidance. Motion guidance loops operate at the intersection of sensory and motor
circuits to initiate and coordinate goal-directed behaviors. This project will dissect the circuits that
control visually guided flight, that relay signals from motor centers into the visual periphery, and that
underlie context-dependent switching of visual responses. To do this, the project will make use of
genetic driver lines to target specific neuron types, as well as genetic effector molecules that alter neural
activity and calcium dynamics. Functional outputs of the system will be measured using calcium and
voltage imaging, as well as whole-cell electrophysiological recordings of neural activity, and behavior.
Computational modeling will play central roles in both the design of visual stimuli, as well as in studies
of network architecture and behavior. These efforts are divided into the following three Aims.
Specific Aim 1: Determine the cellular basis of proportional-integral-derivative (PID)
feedback in the flight motor system.
Specific Aim 2: Determine how motor commands and hunger affect visual processing.
Specific Aim 3: Investigate the mechanisms by which odor cues can switch the direction
of visual orienting reflexes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971620
- **Project number:** 5U19NS104655-04
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas Robert Clandinin
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $526,154
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971620

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971620, Project 3: Neural Basis of Motion Guidance Loops (5U19NS104655-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971620. Licensed CC0.

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