INVESTIGATOR: Belinda Barbagallo, Salve Regina University
MENTOR: Paul Garrity, Brandise University
THEME: Neuroscience

ABSTRACT: Throughout life, all organisms are challenged by environmental stressors, highlighting the importance of homeostatic mechanisms for survival. Many studies have shown that neural circuits play a critical role in counteracting the effects of environmental stress by modulating physiology, though the mechanisms underlying the function of these circuits is not well understood. A key limitation to the study of neural circuit regulation of physiology is the complexity of neural circuits within the mammalian brain and the difficulty of experimental manipulation of these circuits. I have identified a simple, genetically tractable neural circuit underlying physiological response to cold stress in the Drosophila melanogaster model system that allows me to directly probe circuit function. I will use this circuit to address the following aims: Aim 1: To identify signal integration strategies in complex stress circuits. Aim 2: To determine how neuropeptide signaling acts to coordinate stress response in multiple downstream target tissues. The completion of the proposed experiments will result in a detailed overview of neural circuit regulation of cold stress, contributing to our understanding of how sensory input patterning and peptadergic signaling networks regulate the physiological output of stress circuits.

RELEVANCE: Living things rely on the tight control of physiology for survival, making mechanisms for counteracting environmental stress response essential. Neural circuits play a vital role in regulating physiological stress response by integrating sensory information to inform changes in tissue functions. Characterizing the mechanisms governing these circuits is critical to the understanding of how organisms maintain homeostasis in the face of an ever changing environment.