Flying insects are able to fly smartly in an unpredictable environment. It has been found that
flying insects have smart neurons inside their tiny brains that are sensitive to visual motion …

Escape behaviors are, by necessity, fast and robust, making them excellent systems with
which to study the neural basis of behavior. This is especially true in insects, which have …

Accurately detecting a potential collision and triggering a timely escape response is critical
in the field of robotics and autonomous vehicle safety. The lobula giant movement detector …

We discovered a bimodal behavior in the genetically tractable organism Drosophila
melanogaster that allowed us to directly probe the neural mechanisms of an action selection …

Deciphering how the brain regulates motor circuits to control complex behaviors is an
important, long-standing challenge in neuroscience. In the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, this …

Neural processing in the brain controls behavior through descending neurons (DNs)-
neurons which carry signals from the brain to the spinal cord (or thoracic ganglia in insects) …

Detecting a potential collision at night is a challenging task owing to the lack of discernible
features that can be extracted from the available visual stimuli. To alert the driver or …

One of the most important decisions animals have to make is how to respond to an attack
from a potential predator. The response must be prompt and appropriate to ensure survival …

Locusts possess an identified neuron, the descending contralateral movement detector
(DCMD), conveying visual information about impending collision from the brain to thoracic …

The superior colliculus (SC) in the mammalian mesencephalon is involved in avoidance or
escape behaviors, but little is known about the response properties of collicular neurons to …