Biological Cybernetics

This project is part of the Research Unit 5424 ‘Modulation of olfaction: How recurrent circuits govern state-dependent behaviour’ funded by the DFG. We investigate context- and experience-related modulation along the insect olfactory pathway. Using multi-unit recordings at two processing levels, the antennal lobe (AL) and the mushroom body (MB), we characterise mushroom body output neuron (MBON) responses to olfactory, visual and olfactory-visual compound stimuli in naïve bees. Furthermore, we train bees to associate a multimodal stimulus with a reward to investigate learning induced plasticity in MBONs. The goal is to further identify specific MBON subpopulations that modulate odour processing at the AL-level via centrifugal feedback.