Institute of Neuroscience Menu

Kira Poskanzer is a Founder-in-Residence at Arcadia Science, a biotech company transforming evolutionary innovations into therapeutic solutions. She also holds an appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, where her lab studied circuit-level dynamics of astrocytes and neurons in the mammalian cerebral cortex using multi-photon imaging and electrophysiology. At Arcadia, Dr. Poskanzer is leading a translational group developing neuro-immune therapeutics based on molecules found in tick saliva. This early-stage venture aims to be Arcadia's first independent spin-out company. Dr. Poskanzer will talk about transitioning from academia to industry, working at an experimental research organization, balancing open and translational science, and building an early-stage startup. 

Arcadia Science Ticks as treasure troves

Success in life, for humans and all animals, requires multitasking. Multitasking — the simultaneous execution of two or more behaviors by a single agent — may at times seem effortless and safe, such as walking and talking, or challenging and potentially fatal, such as driving and texting. Performance differences between different multitasking contexts are likely reflected in the cognitive demands of the constituent behaviors, yet the neural substrates that facilitate or constrain multitasking remain unknown. Here I develop a research program to investigate the neurogenetic control of multitasking in the model system Drosophila which has a rich repertoire of complex behaviors, a relatively simple nervous system, and an extensive toolset for precise neurogenetic experimentation.

AhmedLab.science

*Note the retreat is a multi-day event with multiple locations starting at Noon on Friday 9/20

Abstract: Animals must carry out a variety of goal-directed behaviors on a continuous basis in order to meet multiple needs that are time-varying, time-sensitive, and survival-essential. These needs include for example obtaining food and water, finding shelter, defending territory, positive social interactions, and sleeping. The actions required to pursue these goals are often mutually exclusive. Regulating behavior therefore requires assessing the urgency and importance of various needs as well as weighing evidence about the likely outcomes of possible behaviors. Often animals must commit to discrete actions in the face of unresolved or unresolvable uncertainty or ambivalence. In this talk I will define "decision" as the goal-directed selection among alternative potential actions, without necessarily implying deliberation or even conscious awareness.  I will describe three different kinds of decisions rats make in the context of one artificial operant task: interpreting internal state and experienced reward rates to decide whether it is worth performing an effortful activity to gain water; interpreting ambiguous sensory stimuli to decide which among alternative behavioral targets is most likely to yield water; and (I will suggest) determining the extent to which sensory decisions are ruled by bottom-up or top-down processing of information.

The Reinagel Lab at UCSD

ION Spring Rotation Talks 
Wednesday, June 12 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Host: Shawn Lockery (ION)

9:00 AM - Christopher Fields Sylwestrak
9:15 AM - Kasey Drake - Miller
9:30 AM - Tim Reizis - Jaramillo
9:45 AM - Praves Lamichhane - Jaramillo
10:00 AM - JoAnna O’Neill - Jaramillo
10:15-10:30 BREAK
10:30 AM - Abbi Koenigsmark - Postlethwait/Washbourne
10:45 AM - Jackie Kuyat - McCormick
11:00 AM - Michelle Ortman - Grimes
11:15 AM - Max Horrocks - Grimes

Abstract:
House mice (Mus musculus) are omnivores and have an innate predatory instinct for small invertebrates like crickets. Our lab is interested in the evolutionary, behavioral, and neural mechanisms underlying hunting behaviors. In this talk, I will discuss the lab's neuroethological approaches to studying hunting at multiple levels: in feral mice on Skokholm island, free-living “re-wilded” lab mice in large outdoor enclosures, and in the lab. I will spend the majority of the time talking about our lab work, where we have created a large arena where we hide crickets and let our mice find them using auditory cues (chirps), focusing on what we have learned from our first cohorts of animals, and where we’re headed next

www.janelia.org/lab/dennis-lab

This seminar remains unscheduled for participation in the Undergraduate Research Symposium, held annually in May.  For more information please visit the symposium website. 

Abstract:  From object detection to successful prey capture, insect aerial predators gather appropriate cues, make fast decisions and translate them into precise motor commands. To compensate for biological delays and noisy data, some dragonflies and robber fly species employ predictive strategies, in addition to visual feedback. Aerial predation therefore presents as an ideal substrate to investigate how animals with very limited resources deal with uncertainty in decision-making. In this talk, I will focus on the strategies that predatory aerial insects use when deciding whether to attack an object. In particular, we will compare the temporal and depth cues used by robber flies and damselflies. I will link the behavior to the neural and morphological adaptations, and discuss how they match particular ecological niches and evolutionary paths.  

Fly Systems Laboratory

Bio:  Paloma grew up in Malaga, a coastal city in southern Spain. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Queensland (Australia; 2000- 2002) majoring in Zoology and Marine Biology. While at UQ, Paloma was an undergraduate in the Justin Marshall laboratory, part of what was the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre (VTHRC), directed by Jack Pettigrew. During her PhD (U. of Sheffield, UK. 2006-2009) she studied the neural basis of visually guided predation in killer flies. For her work on the adaptations that can make a miniature fly deadly she received the Capranica Prize from the Society for Neuroethology. During a short postdoc at Janelia HHMI Campus (2010-2011), she studied the neural basis of predation on dragonflies, and was awarded the PNAS Cozzarelli prize for this work. A dream opportunity arose: to study the neural basis of camouflage on cephalopods at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL, MA). During her time at the MBL (2011-2013), in the Roger Hanlon Laboratory, she discovered a nerve that controls the tunable skin iridescence present in squid skin, and demonstrated that cuttlefish achieve texture in their skin with combinations of ‘catch-like’ muscles. In 2013 she started her own laboratory, the Fly Systems Lab, at the University of Cambridge (UK), which she moved to U. Minnesota in 2018. Her laboratory continues the focus on high quality, integrative and comparative work on predatory aerial insects, and was recently awarded the outstanding paper prize for Fabian et al. 2022, a study of interception through obstacles. In addition to her flight work, Paloma continues to work on cephalopods via collaborative efforts with the Wardill laboratory. 

Large-scale genomic studies have uncovered numerous genes linked to schizophrenia and autism. However, the specific impact of these genes on brain development and function remains unclear. Using optimized pipelines for high-throughput whole-brain activity mapping and behavioral profiling, we have established larval zebrafish phenotypes of mutants for genes linked to autism, childhood-onset schizophrenia, and typical schizophrenia. Human mutations modeled in zebrafish include protein truncation, amino acid substitution, or copy number variation. Using brain activity mapping, we uncovered convergent phenotypes for genes involved in autism, as well as commonly affected brain areas. For several lines, we used RNA sequencing to define molecular drivers of the observed phenotypes, identifying targetable disruptions in neuropeptide signaling, neuronal maturation, and cell proliferation. Beyond the larval screen, we discovered abnormal social interaction at 21 dpf for three mutants for autism-linked genes and identified possibly involved pathways using RNA-sequencing. Ultimately, we expect in-depth studies of these zebrafish lines to nominate downstream targets of disease genes for rational drug development.

thymelab.org