Memory circuits in the Drosophila Brain

Event Dates (Pacific Time):

Thursday, May 1, 2014 - 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Venue Space:

Memory circuits in the Drosophila Brain

Ann-Shyn Chiang
Director of the Brain Research Center at The National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan

Defining the neurons that comprise a memory trace has been a major goal of neuroscience.  Accomplishing this task is not only feasible in Drosopihla, it is under way.  Experiments will be described that begin to identify circuits and key neurons that acquire, maintain, consolidate, and store a memory trace. As the Director of the Brain Research Center at The National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, Dr. Chiang is focused on research to understand how genes and circuits orchestrate complex behavior in Drosophila. Three main approaches are taken: (i) to construct a brain-wide wiring diagram at single-cell resolution; (ii) to manipulate specific nodes in the circuits to understand how the brain encodes and decodes information; and (iii) to develop innovative technologies for functional connectomics research.