Topic: tyrosine decarboxylase

Octopamine, the invertebrate analog of noradrenaline, induces locomotor activity in many invertebrate species. The position and structure of octopamine-synthesising neurons in the brain and ventral nerve cord of larval Drosophila have been documented using the expression patterns of tyrosine decarboxylase (TDC2+). Previous work documents that the larval locomotor network is composed of multiple rhythm generating networks that compete for dominance, with headsweep rhythm generators opposing forward rhythm generators. The role octopamine and TDC2+ neurons play in acute modulation and selection o