Machine works, flies are not learning

on Monday, May 22nd, 2023 11:48 | by

The old software is installed with the new hardware and I’ll be testing the new software in parallel to experiments with the old software. Technically, everything seems to be working now, but the first six flies I tested did not show learning after training:

However, avoidance looks fairly ok, only the last training period gives away that something still isn’t quite the way it should be:

So I’ll go ahead and train a new batch of flies this week. I’ll focus on training/avoidance and make sure it is perfect, before I shorten the training.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Premature habit formation: neural circuitry

on Monday, May 8th, 2023 10:18 | by

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Inhibited subset of KCs in switch mode/yaw torque paradigm

on Friday, May 5th, 2023 3:52 | by

MB417B -> α’/β’ap, α’/β’m, α/βs, α/βp
MB463B -> α’/β’ap
MB371B -> α/βp

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Red light Joystick Results

on Monday, April 3rd, 2023 12:33 | by

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Yellow light Joystick Results

on Monday, March 27th, 2023 11:57 | by

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

NWG Poster on MBON-02 regulating habit formation

on Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 12:18 | by

If you missed it at the Göttingen NWG meeting, you can download our poster from here:

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Update: Red light Joystick results

on Saturday, March 18th, 2023 1:28 | by

After the first full week of testing the three different fly lines with red light, we have analyzed the results. We are now able to provide a further update on our findings.

While the effect for the control groups seems to stay consistent with our previous findings, the effect for the positive control has weakened and is closer to the strength measured in previous experiments. We utilized the norpAP24;Gr28bd+TrpA1>Chrimson line for both our positive and negative controls.

Furthermore, the experimental group, which previously favored red light in the post-test, showed a more varied and inconclusive profile. We will need to conduct further testing to determine whether the previously observed effect was simply caused by the small sample size.

Another important discovery was the necessity of feeding the flies sugar water 5-10 minutes before the experiment in order to maintain their activity levels. This way the flies will be identified as a valid data point by the R-script and will ensure more and more accurate data. It is important to note that we will implement this feeding process in all future experiments to ensure consistency and accuracy of the data collected.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Red light Joystick Results

on Tuesday, March 14th, 2023 8:57 | by

The box plots show the performance indices (PIs) of each fly as one dot for each minute of the test and for the pre- and post-test periods. Values between 1 and -1 indicate preference for or avoidance of the light.
The light used is red and has an intensity of 400 to 470 lux, the LEDs have a voltage of 7.5 volts. The control flies observed seem to show a stronger effect than in previous tests, which could be due to the use of a thinner fishing line (0.6 mm), which is easier to place correctly in the clamp of the joystick machine.
For the negative and positive control we used the line norpAP24;Gr28bd+TrpA1>Chrimson.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Flight Duration

on Monday, January 30th, 2023 12:40 | by

21/12/2022
TntG expression
30/01/2023
TntE expression
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Courtship experiment

on Monday, December 19th, 2022 12:17 | by

Print Friendly, PDF & Email