Yargili, Yigit

For my PhD, I use connectomics to explore how insect heading-direction circuits adapt to different lifestyles. With the Kronauer Lab at Rockefeller University, we're mapping the connectivity of the central complex and its inputs in Oocerea biroi, a blind, subterranean ant that navigates by pheromone trails. In parallel, we're examining the input connectivity to the compass system in Cataglyphis nodus, a highly visual desert ant and capable forager. The goal is to understand the unique pathways and microcircuit adaptations for each lifestyle, and to build a picture of neural plasticity in heading-direction circuits, how it supports an insect's ability to use varied environmental cues to orient.

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