| Nothing makes sense in the
neurosciences except in the light of behavior. This fundamental
insight constitutes the ultimate criterion for brain performance. The brain's
primary objective is to carry out certain, adaptive behaviors; these behaviors
are also intimately connected to homeostasis. Thus, the common
functional organization of brains must be described in behavioral terms
and can only be tested by behavioral experiments. The challenge for the
behavioral scientist is to describe, in these terms, the relevant brain
processes which lie behind the level of overt behavior. Drosophila
offers us a wide variety of behaviors which can serve as indicators of
the events inside the brain of a wildtype individual as well as of the
functional alterations in brains of genetically manipulated individuals.
Among other experimental designs we use Buridan's
Paradigm , the Locomotion Recorder,
the Heat Box and the Flight
Simulator for our main topics.
For details see Projects list.
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