Post Doctoral Fellow

Neurogenetics

Wellcome Trust Center for human Genetics, University of Oxford

Adam Claridge Chang

To find the Neural and Molecular mediators of action learning in Drosophila melanogaster

A major challenge in neurobiology is to explain how experiences can alter a brain to incorporate new information about (1) relationships between stimuli and (2) which actions are consequential. These two types of learning are studied with distinct types of conditioning protocol: Pavlovian and operant. Pavlovian conditioning associates a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. an odor) with an inherently provocative outcome (e.g. a shock) until the former alone provokes a response. Operant conditioning associates an action with its consequences. Controversy continues to rage about the specific roles of stimulus-outcome and response-outcome associations and which neural circuits might support these associations. I aim to solve these questions with a simpler model organism and a behavioral system that allows direct comparison of the two regimes. Operant conditioning produces more learning per reinforcement, suggesting that action signals are used during learning. I will screen for lesions that specifically reduce this advantage.