Why Practical Summer Courses In Neuroscience Matter | The Transmitter

John Tuthill, a professor of neurobiology and biophysics at the University of Washington, was an instructor in the MBL's Neural Systems and Behavior course.

On a muggy July evening in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as vacationers lounged on nearby beaches, a group of scientists clustered around a solitary fruit fly suspended in a virtual reality flight simulator. The scientists flicked a switch to bathe the tethered fly in spooky red light. Almost immediately, the fly’s wingbeat frequency began to plummet. The fruit fly had been genetically engineered to express a light-gated ion channel in the motor neurons controlling its respiratory system, enabling the scientists to optogenetically cut off the oxygen supply to the insect’s muscles and brain.

Playing through a speaker hooked up to an optical wingbeat analyzer, the peppy whine of the fly’s wings deepened to a weary drone … 200 hertz … 180 … 160. Suddenly, the din cut to silence as the fly ceased to beat its wings. .

Source: Why practical summer courses in neuroscience matter | The Transmitter