Location: Paul-Ehrlich-Hörsaal, Virchowweg 4, CCM
"Reverse-engineering Drosophila action selection and movement control": Talk by Prof. Dr. Pavan Ramdya (EPFL in Lausanne)
On behalf of the 'Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Connectivity: From Membranes to Synapses' Group, Prof. Dr. Pavan Ramdya will give a talk titled "Reverse-engineering Drosophila action selection and movement control" as part of the 2026 Student/Postdoc-Run Speaker Series (SPRSS).
Abstract:
A shared goal of neuroscience and robotics is to understand how systems can be built to move effectively and autonomously through the world. However, state-of-the-art algorithms for selecting and executing limb-dependent behaviors in robots are still quite primitive compared with the neural controllers used by animals. To inform the design of artificial systems, we are investigating how the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, selects and controls its behaviors and how this process can be modulated by learning. I will discuss how we are pursuing this research program through a combination of experimentation and computational modeling.