Mechanism of the homeostatic feedback between taste circuits and feeding behaviours
Acquiring the right food in the right amounts at the right time is a fundamental condition for animal survival and health. Animals detect tastants in a food resource via gustatory sensory neurons, and process this information in brain where higher order and modulatory neurons interact. Subsequently, decisions are transmitted to motor neurons that execute food-related behaviour. In the gustatory system however, most of these circuit components, and how they function, are yet to be identified. To address these questions my project uses Drosophila as the model system to characterize a novel gustatory circuit, especially about its neuronal populations and the wiring diagram. Additionally, I will characterize the relationship between circuit activity and feeding behaviour. Finally, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of these relationships will be investigated. Taken together, these studies will shed light on the formation and regulation of the gustatory system.