Université de Fribourg

Plasticity in the Drosophila larval visual system

Farca-Luna, Abud J. ; Sprecher, Simon G.

In: Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2013, vol. 7, p. 105

The remarkable ability of the nervous system to modify its structure and function is mostly experience and activity modulated. The molecular basis of neuronal plasticity has been studied in higher behavioral processes, such as learning and memory formation. However, neuronal plasticity is not restricted to higher brain functions and it may provide a basic feature of adaptation of all neural...

Université de Fribourg

Structure and development of the subesophageal zone of the Drosophila brain. II. Sensory compartments

Kendroud, Sarah ; Bohra, Ali A. ; Kuert, Philipp A. ; Nguyen, Bao ; Guillermin, Oriane ; Sprecher, Simon G. ; Reichert, Heinrich ; VijayRaghavan, Krishnaswamy ; Hartenstein, Volker

In: Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2018, vol. 526, no. 1, p. 33–58

The subesophageal zone (SEZ) of the Drosophila brain processes mechanosensory and gustatory sensory input from sensilla located on the head, mouth cavity and trunk. Motor output from the SEZ directly controls the movements involved in feeding behavior. In an accompanying paper (Hartenstein et al., 2017), we analyzed the systems of fiber tracts and secondary lineages to establish reliable...

Université de Fribourg

Analysis of cell identity, morphology, apoptosis and mitotic activity in a primary neural cell culture system in Drosophila

Moraru, Manuela M ; Egger, Boris ; Bao, Diarra B. ; Sprecher, Simon G.

In: Neural Development, 2012, vol. 7, p. 14

In Drosophila, most neurogenetic research is carried out in vivo. Mammalian research demonstrates that primary cell culture techniques provide a powerful model to address cell autonomous and non-autonomous processes outside their endogenous environment. We developed a cell culture system in Drosophila using wildtype and genetically manipulated primary neural tissue for long-term observations. We...

Université de Fribourg

The Drosophila larval visual system: High-resolution analysis of a simple visual neuropil

Sprecher, Simon G. ; Cardona, Albert ; Hartenstein, Volker

In: Developmental Biology, 2011, p. -

The task of the visual system is to translate light into neuronal encoded information. This translation of photons into neuronal signals is achieved by photoreceptor neurons (PRs), specialized sensory neurons, located in the eye. Upon perception of light the PRs will send a signal to target neurons, which represent a first station of visual processing. Increasing complexity of visual processing...