Presenter Information

Carson FulghamFollow

Major

Neuroscience

Anticipated Graduation Year

2020

Access Type

Open Access

Abstract

Circadian rhythms allow biological organisms to synchronize their behavioral and physiological rhythms to their environment. Circadian circuits are made of input pathways, an endogenous core clock, and output pathways. While the input pathways and the core clock itself have been widely studied, much is still unknown about the output pathways. Thus, this project focuses on understanding these output pathways, specifically in regard to circadian feeding behavior. In the brain of Drosophila melanogaster, the pars intercerebralis (PI) , a homologue to the mammalian hypothalamus has been identified as an output center for the core clock. This region is made up of three distinct cell populations: DH44+, SIFamide+, and DILP+ neurons. Both DILP (Drosophila insulin-like peptide) and SIFamide have been implicated in general feeding behaviors. Here, we investigate their potential roles as regulators of circadian feeding behaviors.

Faculty Mentors & Instructors

Dan Cavanaugh, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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A Circadian Output Center Controlling Feeding Rhythms in Drosophila

Circadian rhythms allow biological organisms to synchronize their behavioral and physiological rhythms to their environment. Circadian circuits are made of input pathways, an endogenous core clock, and output pathways. While the input pathways and the core clock itself have been widely studied, much is still unknown about the output pathways. Thus, this project focuses on understanding these output pathways, specifically in regard to circadian feeding behavior. In the brain of Drosophila melanogaster, the pars intercerebralis (PI) , a homologue to the mammalian hypothalamus has been identified as an output center for the core clock. This region is made up of three distinct cell populations: DH44+, SIFamide+, and DILP+ neurons. Both DILP (Drosophila insulin-like peptide) and SIFamide have been implicated in general feeding behaviors. Here, we investigate their potential roles as regulators of circadian feeding behaviors.