Platform

  • Search
  • Seminars
  • Conferences
  • Jobs

Resources

  • Submit Content
  • About Us

© 2025 World Wide

Open knowledge for all • Started with World Wide Neuro • A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization

Analytics consent required

World Wide relies on analytics signals to operate securely and keep research services available. Accept to continue, or leave the site.

Review the Privacy Policy for details about analytics processing.

World Wide
SeminarsConferencesWorkshopsCoursesJobsMapsFeedLibrary
Back to SeminarsBack
Seminar✓ Recording AvailableNeuroscience

Functional and structural loci of individuality in the Drosophila olfactory circuit

Benjamin de Bivort

Dr

Harvard University

Schedule
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Showing your local timezone

Schedule

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

2:00 AM America/New_York

Watch recording
Host: Systems Neuroecology

Watch the seminar

Recording provided by the organiser.

Event Information

Domain

Neuroscience

Original Event

View source

Host

Systems Neuroecology

Duration

70 minutes

Abstract

behaviour varies even among genetically identical animals raised in the same environment. However, little is known about the circuit or anatomical underpinnings of this individuality, though previous work implicates sensory periphery. Drosophila olfaction presents an ideal model to study the biological basis of behavioural individuality, because while the neural circuit underlying olfactory behaviour is well-described and highly stereotyped, persistent idiosyncrasy in behaviour, neural coding, and neural wiring have also been described. Projection neurons (PNs), which relay odor signals sensed by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) to deeper brain structures, exhibit variable calcium responses to identical odor stimuli across individuals, but how these idiosyncrasies relate to individual behavioural responses remains unknown. Here, using paired behaviour and two-photon imaging measurements, we show that idiosyncratic calcium dynamics in both ORNs and PNs predict individual preferences for an aversive monomolecular odorant versus air, suggesting that variation at the periphery of the olfactory system determines individual preference for an odor’s presence. In contrast, PN, but not ORN, calcium responses predict individual preferences in a two-odor choice assay. Furthermore, paired behaviour and immunohistochemistry measurements reveal that variation in ORN presynaptic density also predicts two-odor preference, suggesting this site is a locus of individuality where microscale circuit variation gives rise to idiosyncrasy in behaviour. Our results demonstrate how a neural circuit may vary functionally and structurally to produce variable behaviour among individuals.

Topics

aversive odorantcalcium dynamicsdrosophilaindividualityinvertebratesolfactory circuitolfactory receptor neuronspresynaptic densityprojection neuronstwo-photon imaging

About the Speaker

Benjamin de Bivort

Dr

Harvard University

Contact & Resources

@debivort

Follow on Twitter/X

twitter.com/debivort

Related Seminars

Seminar60%

Knight ADRC Seminar

neuro

Jan 20, 2025
Washington University in St. Louis, Neurology
Seminar60%

TBD

neuro

Jan 20, 2025
King's College London
Seminar60%

Guiding Visual Attention in Dynamic Scenes

neuro

Jan 20, 2025
Haifa U
January 2026
Full calendar →