Detecting the direction of image motion is important for visual navigation as well as predator,
prey and mate detection and, thus, essential for the survival of all animals that have eyes …

Within the last 400 million years, insects have radiated into at least a million species,
accounting for more than half of all known living organisms: they are the most successful …

Understanding how activity patterns in specific neural circuits coordinate an animal's
behavior remains a key area of neuroscience research. Genetic tools and a brain of …

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been used for decades as a genetic model for
unraveling mechanisms of development and behavior. In order to efficiently assign gene …

In insects, visual information is processed in the optic lobe and conveyed to the central
brain. Although neural circuits within the optic lobe have been studied extensively, relatively …

The avoidance of light by fly larvae is a classic paradigm for sensorimotor behavior. Here,
we use behavioral assays and video microscopy to quantify the sensorimotor structure of …

Compared with connections between the retinae and primary visual centers, relatively less
is known in both mammals and insects about the functional segregation of neural pathways …

Phototransduction systems in vertebrates and invertebrates share a great deal of similarity in
overall strategy but differ significantly in the underlying molecular machinery. Both are …

To integrate changing environmental cues with high spatial and temporal resolution is
critical for animals to orient themselves. Drosophila larvae show an effective motor program …

Insects use vision to choose from a repertoire of flexible behaviors which they perform for
survival. Decisions for behavioral plasticity are achieved through the neuromodulation of …