Chris de Zeeuw

The Guest Speaker:
Misha Ahrens. senior group leader, 4D cellular physiology.
Ahrens lab@HHMI Janelia.
Janelia Research Campus, HHMI.

Title: Brain-wide neuronal and astroglial dynamics for flexible behavior in zebrafish.

Abstract:

The brain generates behavior through interactions between many regions. To understand computation in large neuronal networks, we use whole-brain light-sheet imaging and neuron perturbation in zebrafish that swim in virtual reality environments. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress in our understanding in the neural basis of path integration, wherein we discover a memory of self-location in the brainstem that is used for navigation and cerebellar motor planning. I will also discuss recent work on the astroglial basis of fast antidepressant action of ketamine in a zebrafish ‘futility induced passivity’ assay. Finally, I will present work on generalizing our research to outside the brain, where we consider input from the viscera (such as from the digestive system) and their role in controlling brain and behavioral states.