Behavioral,
Neurophysiological & Computational Analysis of
Olfactory Processing, Learning and Memory
My research focuses on how
olfactory (odor) signals are processed in the brain.
We are also interested in how this processing
changes as the organism experiences real world
events. We employ an interdisciplinary systems-level
approach that that integrates neuroethology, animal
learning, behavior-pharmacology and computational
neurosciences within a comparative context.
My lab uses the moth Manduca
sexta. The first layer of synaptic interaction
in the moth brain, the antennal lobe (AL), is
structurally and functionally homologous to the
vertebrate olfactory bulb making this species an
ideal model system for basic biomedical research.
Behavioral analyses of olfactory acuity indicate
that insects recognize minute differences between
monomolecular odorants. In the AL of the moth brain
odorant stimulation elicits a spatiotemporal
response from populations of local and output
neurons. The dynamics of odor-driven responses in
the AL are dependent upon many stimulus variables
and are setup by a local network of inhibitory
GABA-ergic neurons. This local network contains a
number of different cell types and morphologies. Our
ongoing research seeks to: 1) characterize
spatiotemporal responses within the AL: 2) assess
how AL responses change as a function of experience;
and 3) assess the role that the inhibitory neurons
plays in mediating output response patterns and the
role they play learning-dependent changes in AL
output. Dr. Daly's Home Page:
http://www.as.wvu.edu/daly |