Behavioral Analysis and Recording

PROJECT 2 SUMMARY/ABSTRACT ? Project 2.

Behavioral Analysis and Recording This project examines the behavior of nudibranch mollusc Berghia as part of the larger Berghia Brain Project. Careful behavioral analysis is crucial for an understanding of the neural basis of behavior.

This project uses innovative approaches to understand how this animal changes its behavior in response to tactile, chemosensory, and visual stimuli.

The project uses innovative technology including machine learning to automatically classify behavior, a tracking system that allows the animal to explore an arena while remaining stationary with respect to a microscope objective, and optogenetic stimulation.

The questions being addressed are related to the global problems of how a brain interacts with a complex network to produce behavior. In particular, the Project addresses how multimodal sensory information affects behavioral responses.