Evolution of insect navigation circuits

My PhD projects aims at understanding how complex navigation behaviour arises in insects, with a focus on neuroanatomy. I study the central complex, a region at the centre of the insect’s brain, responsible for computing navigational decisions in response to external and internal orientation and motion cues. This region appears to be highly conserved across multiple insect species, despite their different lifestyles, navigational strategies, and despite evolutionary distance.

Ultimately, the goal of my project is to reveal the core circuits of the central complex – those which are highly conserved – and the species-specific ones – those which have been shaped by specific lifestyles. Using serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, we can obtain 3-dimensional image data of the brain at high resolution, allowing us to distinguish individual neurons and their synapses. Based on this data, we will produce maps of the neurons and their connections through manual tracing, and automatic segmentation using machine learning. These so-called “connectomes” may unveil the secret behind the complex and diverse navigational behaviours of insects, and give us a view into the evolution of the brain.