Málstofa Lífvísindaseturs - Sensing chemicals and making sense of them

Málstofa Lífvísindaseturs þriðjudaginn 9. júní kl. 11:00-12:00 í Öskju, stofu N-132

Fyrirlesari: Dr Venkatesh Murthy, Professor of Molecular and Cellular, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Titill: Sensing chemicals and making sense of them

Ágrip: Animals use their olfactory system to sense chemicals in the environment which guide their behaviors. Fluctuating mixtures of chemicals, transported in turbulent environments, are detected by an array of olfactory sensors in the nose (or its analog). These signals are parsed by neural circuits in the brain to recognize odor objects, which then inform behavioral decisions. I will discuss our group’s efforts to understand the algorithmic and neural basis of how animals detect relevant molecules embedded within complex mixtures of distractors, and how they use sparse intermittent odor stimuli to navigate.

Rannsóknir: Algorithms and Neural Circuits in Olfaction: We are interested in understanding the neural and algorithmic basis of odor-guided behaviors in terrestrial animals. To this end, we have developed behavioral tasks in mice using stimuli and situations that approximate natural settings, while allowing electrophysiological recordings, high-resolution optical imaging and optogenetic manipulation. We record neural activity in behaving mice using electro- or opto-physiological methods and relate them to behavioral features. Where possible, we also examine the neural circuits to understand how their architecture gives rise to the neural activity observed in behaving animals. Finally, we are also interested in understanding how neural circuits in the olfactory system are modified by behavioral state, experience and learning. Although we are primarily an experimental group, we collaborate extensively with theorists to seek normative and parsimonious explanations for our neural and behavioral observations.