Emmy-Noether-Group Ache

The research focus of the Emmy-Noether-Group is to unravel the neuronal mechanisms enabling flexible, adaptive behavior in Drosophila.

We study the neuronal mechanisms underlying behavioral flexibility in Drosophila. In one line of research, we dissect sensorimotor circuits controlling different aspects of innate behaviors, such as walking, flying, and feeding, and the transitions between them. For instance, several projects in the lab focus on the control of walking initiation, speed, and termination. In a complementary line of research, we investigate modulatory circuits that allow anatomically constrained and synaptically defined circuits to process information in a flexible, state- and context-dependent way. Here, we currently focus on the insulin system to unravel how internal states shape behavior and vice versa. We use a variety of techniques, including in-vivo patch-clamp recordings and calcium imaging in behaving flies, optogenetics, automated behavioral analyses, and connectomics, to tackle these challenging questions.