Motor Circuit Organization in Larval and Adult Drosophila
Comparing larval and adult motor circuits to explore how neural organization supports locomotion. Research collaboration with Jimena Berni at the University of Sussex.
Figure captions:
- Two views of larval L1 circuits associated with segments T3-A3, visualized in napari. Blue indicates neurons located within segment A1; yellow indicates neurons outside A1. Figure from my Sussex presentation. Larval connectome reference cited in the presentation: Mohinta et al. (2026), The female larval fly CNS connectome.
I began this project during my September 2026 research visit to Dr. Jimena Berni’s lab at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex. I continue to collaborate remotely with the lab on larval and adult Drosophila motor circuits, exploring how their organization relates to locomotion across developmental stages.
Working with Jimena, I am comparing larval and adult motor circuits to explore how their organization supports rhythmic activity and locomotion, and which principles of motor control may be shared across developmental stages. I used napari to inspect larval neuronal morphologies in their anatomical context and explored connectivity patterns as part of this ongoing work. The two views above show the same selected circuits from different orientations, helping relate their projections to segmental anatomy. Our continuing collaboration examines how shared and distinct features of circuit organization relate to the different motor demands of larvae and adults.
References and related work
- Mohinta et al. (2026), The female larval fly CNS connectome. Larval dataset reference as cited in my presentation.
- Jimena Berni’s institutional profile and Google Scholar.
- Research experience at Sussex, with details of the visit and continuing collaboration.
- CNScope: Male CNS Connectome Viewer, my related project for exploring the adult Male CNS dataset in napari.