scholarly journals FlyLimbTracker: an active contour based approach for leg segment tracking in unmarked, freely behaving Drosophila

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Uhlmann ◽  
Pavan Ramdya ◽  
Ricard Delgado-Gonzalo ◽  
Richard Benton ◽  
Michael Unser
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Active Contour ◽  
The Body ◽  
Software Implementation ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Freely Behaving ◽  
Leg Movements

AbstractUnderstanding the biological underpinnings of movement and action requires the development of tools for precise, quantitative, and high-throughput measurements of animal behavior. Drosophila melanogaster provides an ideal model for developing such tools: the fly has unparalleled genetic accessibility and depends on a relatively compact nervous system to generate sophisticated limbed behaviors including walking, reaching, grooming, courtship, and boxing. Here we describe a method that uses active contours to semi-automatically track body and leg segments from video image sequences of unmarked, freely behaving Drosophila. We show that this approach is robust to wide variations in video spatial and temporal resolution and that it can be used to measure leg segment motions during a variety of locomotor and grooming behaviors. FlyLimbTracker, the software implementation of this method, is open-source and our approach is generalizable. This opens up the possibility of tracking leg movements in other species by modifications of underlying active contour models.Author SummaryIn terrestrial animals, including humans, fundamental actions like locomotion and grooming emerge from the displacement of multiple limbs through space. Therefore, precise measurements of limb movements are critical for investigating and, ultimately, understanding the neural basis for behavior. The vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is an attractive animal model for uncovering general principles about limb control since its genome and nervous system are easy to manipulate. However, existing methods for measuring leg movements in freely behaving Drosophila have significant drawbacks: they require complicated experimental setups and provide limited information about each leg. Here we report a new method - and provide its open-source software implementation, FlyLimbTracker - for tracking the body and leg segments of freely behaving flies using only computational image processing approaches. We illustrate the power of this method by tracking fly limbs during five distinct walking and grooming behaviors and from videos across a wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions. Our approach is generalizable, allowing researchers to use and customize our software for limb tracking in Drosophila and in other species.

The Co-Ordination of Insect Movements

1957 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-333
Author(s):  
G. M. HUGHES
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Normal Movement ◽  
Thoracic Ganglia ◽  
Blatta Orientalis ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Leg Movements

I. The effects of limb amputation and the cutting of commissures on the movements of the cockroach Blatta orientalis have been investigated with the aid of cinematography. Detailed analyses of changes in posture and rhythm of leg movements are given. 2. It is shown that quite marked changes occur following the amputation of a single leg or the cutting of a single commissure between the thoracic ganglia. 3. Changes following the amputation of a single leg are immediate and are such that the support normally provided by the missing leg is taken over by the two remaining legs on that side. Compensatory movements are also found in the contralateral legs. 4. When two legs of opposite sides are amputated it has been confirmed that the diagonal sequence tends to be adopted, but this is not invariably true. Besides alterations in the rhythm which this may involve, there are again adaptive modifications in the movements of the limbs with respect to the body. 5. When both comrnissures between the meso- and metathoracic ganglia are cut, the hind pair of legs fall out of rhythm with the other four legs. The observations on the effects of cutting commissures stress the importance of intersegmental pathways in co-ordination. 6. It is shown that all modifications following the amputation of legs may be related to the altered mechanical conditions. Some of the important factors involved in normal co-ordination are discussed, and it is suggested that the altered movements would be produced by the operation of these factors under the new conditions. It is concluded that the sensory inflow to the central nervous system is of major importance in the co-ordination of normal movement.

scholarly journals Neural Changes Underlying Rapid Fly Song Evolution

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Ding ◽  
Joshua L. Lillvis ◽  
Jessica Cande ◽  
Gordon J. Berman ◽  
Benjamin J. Arthur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Courtship Song ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Electrophysiological Properties ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Behavioural Diversity

AbstractThe neural basis for behavioural evolution is poorly understood. Functional comparisons of homologous neurons may reveal how neural circuitry contributes to behavioural evolution, but homologous neurons cannot be identified and manipulated in most taxa. Here, we compare the function of homologous courtship song neurons by exporting neurogenetic reagents that label identified neurons in Drosophila melanogaster to D. yakuba. We found a conserved role for a cluster of brain neurons that establish a persistent courtship state. In contrast, a descending neuron with conserved electrophysiological properties drives different song types in each species. Our results suggest that song evolved, in part, due to changes in the neural circuitry downstream of this descending neuron. This experimental approach can be generalized to other neural circuits and therefore provides an experimental framework for studying how the nervous system has evolved to generate behavioural diversity.

Central nervous system pathologies and anaesthesia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Gill ◽  
Michael H. Nathanson
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Preoperative Assessment ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Levels Of Care ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Organ Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Neurological Conditions

Anaesthesia induces changes in many organ systems within the body, though clearly none more so than the central nervous system. The physiology of the normal central nervous system is complex and the addition of chronic pathology and polypharmacy creates a significant challenge for the anaesthetist. This chapter demonstrates a common approach for the anaesthetist and specific considerations for a wide range of neurological conditions. Detailed preoperative assessment is essential to gain understanding of the current symptomatology and neurological deficit, including at times restrictions on movement and position. Some conditions may pose challenges relating to communication, capacity, and consent. As part of the consent process, patients may worry that an anaesthetic may aggravate or worsen their neurological disease. There is little evidence to support this understandable concern; however, the risks and benefits must be considered on an individual patient basis. The conduct of anaesthesia may involve a preference for general or regional anaesthesia and requires careful consideration of the pharmacological and physiological impact on the patient and their disease. Interactions between regular medications and anaesthetic drugs are common. Chronically denervated muscle may induce hyperkalaemia after administration of succinylcholine. Other patients may have an altered response to non-depolarizing agents, such as those suffering from myasthenia gravis. The most common neurological condition encountered is epilepsy. This requires consideration of the patient’s antiepileptic drugs, often relating to hepatic enzyme induction or less commonly inhibition and competition for protein binding, and the effect of the anaesthetic technique and drugs on the patient’s seizure risk. Postoperative care may need to take place in a high dependency unit, especially in those with limited preoperative reserve or markers of frailty, and where the gastrointestinal tract has been compromised, alternative routes of drug delivery need to be considered. Overall, patients with chronic neurological conditions require careful assessment and preparation, a considered technique with attention to detail, and often higher levels of care during their immediate postoperative period.

scholarly journals Modern aspects of neuropathogenesis and neurological manifestations of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
L.A. Dziak ◽  
O.S. Tsurkalenko ◽  
K.V. Chekha ◽  
V.M. Suk
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
The Body ◽  
Altered Level ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

Coronavirus infection is a systemic pathology resulting in impairment of the nervous system. The involvement of the central nervous system in COVID-19 is diverse by clinical manifestations and main mechanisms. The mechanisms of interrelations between SARS-CoV-2 and the nervous system include a direct virus-induced lesion of the central nervous system, inflammatory-mediated impairment, thrombus burden, and impairment caused by hypoxia and homeostasis. Due to the multi-factor mechanisms (viral, immune, hypoxic, hypercoagulation), the SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause a wide range of neurological disorders involving both the central and peripheral nervous system and end organs. Dizziness, headache, altered level of consciousness, acute cerebrovascular diseases, hypogeusia, hyposmia, peripheral neuropathies, sleep disorders, delirium, neuralgia, myalgia are the most common signs. The structural and functional changes in various organs and systems and many neurological symptoms are determined to persist after COVID-19. Regardless of the numerous clinical reports about the neurological and psychiatric symptoms of COVID-19 as before it is difficult to determine if they are associated with the direct or indirect impact of viral infection or they are secondary to hypoxia, sepsis, cytokine reaction, and multiple organ failure. Penetrated the brain, COVID-19 can impact the other organs and systems and the body in general. Given the mechanisms of impairment, the survivors after COVID-19 with the infection penetrated the brain are more susceptible to more serious diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, cognitive decline, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune diseases. Given the multi-factor pathogenesis of COVID-19 resulting in long-term persistence of the clinical symptoms due to impaired neuroplasticity and neurogenesis followed by cholinergic deficiency, the usage of Neuroxon® 1000 mg a day with twice-day dosing for 30 days. Also, a long-term follow-up and control over the COVID-19 patients are recommended for the prophylaxis, timely determination, and correction of long-term complications.

Assessing the Neural Basis of Uncertainty in Perceptual Category Learning through Varying Levels of Distortion

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1781-1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reka Daniel ◽  
Gerd Wagner ◽  
Kathrin Koch ◽  
Jürgen R. Reichenbach ◽  
Heinrich Sauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Single Session ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Perceptual Category ◽  
Visuospatial Processing ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Perceptual Category Learning

The formation of new perceptual categories involves learning to extract that information from a wide range of often noisy sensory inputs, which is critical for selecting between a limited number of responses. To identify brain regions involved in visual classification learning under noisy conditions, we developed a task on the basis of the classical dot pattern prototype distortion task [M. I. Posner, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68, 113–118, 1964]. Twenty-seven healthy young adults were required to assign distorted patterns of dots into one of two categories, each defined by its prototype. Categorization uncertainty was modulated parametrically by means of Shannon's entropy formula and set to the levels of 3, 7, and 8.5 bits/dot within subsets of the stimuli. Feedback was presented after each trial, and two parallel versions of the task were developed to contrast practiced and unpracticed performance within a single session. Using event-related fMRI, areas showing increasing activation with categorization uncertainty and decreasing activation with training were identified. Both networks largely overlapped and included areas involved in visuospatial processing (inferior temporal and posterior parietal areas), areas involved in cognitive processes requiring a high amount of cognitive control (posterior medial wall), and a cortico-striatal–thalamic loop through the body of the caudate nucleus. Activity in the medial prefrontal wall was increased when subjects received negative as compared with positive feedback, providing further evidence for its important role in mediating the error signal. This study characterizes the cortico-striatal network underlying the classification of distorted visual patterns that is directly related to decision uncertainty.

scholarly journals An object oriented implementation of the Yeadon human inertia model

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dembia ◽  
Jason K. Moore ◽  
Mont Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
The Body ◽  
Software Implementation ◽  
Command Line ◽  
Inertia Parameters ◽  
Inertia Model ◽  
High Level

We present an open source software implementation of a popular mathematical method developed by M.R. Yeadon for calculating the body and segment inertia parameters of a human body. The software is written in a high level open source language and provides three interfaces for manipulating the data and the model: a Python API, a command-line user interface, and a graphical user interface. Thus the software can fit into various data processing pipelines and requires only simple geometrical measures as input.

scholarly journals Neural basis of hunger-driven behaviour in Drosophila

Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 180259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suewei Lin ◽  
Bhagyashree Senapati ◽  
Chang-Hui Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Model System ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Motivational State ◽  
Psychological Sense ◽  
Food Seeking ◽  
Behavioural Repertoire ◽  
Feeding Behaviours

Hunger is a motivational state that drives eating and food-seeking behaviour. In a psychological sense, hunger sets the goal that guides an animal in the pursuit of food. The biological basis underlying this purposive, goal-directed nature of hunger has been under intense investigation. With its rich behavioural repertoire and genetically tractable nervous system, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as an excellent model system for studying the neural basis of hunger and hunger-driven behaviour. Here, we review our current understanding of how hunger is sensed, encoded and translated into foraging and feeding behaviours in the fruit fly.

scholarly journals Spectrum of Neurological Manifestations in COVID-19: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-137
Author(s):  
Firoz Ahmed Quraishi ◽  
Aminur Rahman ◽  
Furial Quraishi Twinkle
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Peripheral Nervous System ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
The Body ◽  
Neurological Symptoms ◽  
Neurological Manifestation ◽  
Neurological Manifestations ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Wide Range

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2) is causing a worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 within a short span of time. Although patients with COVID-19 primarily present with fever and respiratory illness; a wide range of symptoms involving different systems have been described. While the neurological sequelae of the virus remain poorly understood, there are a growing number of reports of neurological manifestation of COVID-19.The neurological manifestation including both central and peripheral nervous system are increasingly reported in a very subset of COVID-19 patients. The SARS-CoV-2 enters the body mainly via the ACE- 2 receptors within the respiratory system, which causes the body to initiate an immunologic response against potential damage to non-renewable cells. There’s increasing evidence of accumulating that COVID-19, particularly in severe cases, can have neurological consequences although respiratory symptoms nearly always develop before neurological ones. Patients with pre-existing neurological conditions could also be at elevated risk for COVID-19 associated neurological symptoms. The neurological presentations of COVID-19 patients maybe acute and post-acute state. The acute presentations are classified into specific (such as stroke, encephalitis, acute polyneuropathy, etc.) and nonspecific (such as delirium, headache, dizziness, etc.) symptoms with anatomical involvement of either central nervous system including brain or spinal cord, and/or peripheral nervous system, neuromuscular junctions or muscles. Several neurological symptoms have also been demonstrated in post-acute or long covid-19 syndrome. There is a possibility to overlook or misinterpretation of, neurological symptoms in some COVID-19 patients. In infants and young children, the foremost common CNS phenomena are febrile seizures; in adults, non-focal abnormalities will be either neurological or constitutional. To date, neurological manifestations of COVID-19 are described largely within the disease trajectory, and also the long-term effects of such manifestations still remain unexplored and unfolded. This article is intended to review the possible neuro-invasive routes of SARS-CoV-2 and its mechanisms which initiate the neurological damage with neurological presentations of COVID-19 patients. Bangladesh J Medicine July 2021; 32(2) : 120-137

scholarly journals A low-cost, open-source framework for tracking and behavioural analysis of animals in aquatic ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz A. Francisco ◽  
Paul Nührenberg ◽  
Alex L. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Animal Movement ◽  
Body Position ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Infrastructure Investment ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Body Contour ◽  
Environmental Models ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractAlthough methods for tracking animals underwater exist, they frequently involve costly infrastructure investment, or capture and manipulation of animals to affix or implant tags. These practical concerns limit the taxonomic coverage of aquatic movement ecology studies and implementation in areas where high infrastructure investment is impossible. Here we present a method based on deep-learning and structure-from-motion, with which we can accurately determine the 3D location of animals, the structure of the environment in which they are moving. Further behavioural decomposition of the body position and contour of animals subsequently allow quantifying the behavioural states of each interacting animal. This approach can be used with minimal infrastructure and without confining animals to to a fixed area, or capturing and interfering with them in any way. With this approach, we are able to track single individuals (Conger Eel,Conger oceanus), small heterospecific groups (Mullus surmuletus, Diplodus sp.), and schools of animals (Tanganyikan cichlidsLamprologus callipterus) in freshwater and marine systems, and in habitats ranging in environmental complexity. Positional information was highly accurate, with errors as low as 1.67% of body length. Tracking data was embedded in 3D environmental models that could be used to examine collective decision making, obstacle avoidance, and visual connectivity of groups. By analyzing body contour and position, we were also able to use unsupervised classification to quantify the kinematic behavioural states of each animal. The proposed framework allows us to understand animal behaviour in aquatic systems at an unprecedented resolution and a fraction of the cost of established methodologies, with minimal domain expertise at the data acquisition or analysis phase required. Implementing this method, research can be conducted in a wide range of field contexts to collect laboratory standard data, vastly expanding both the taxonomic and environmental coverage of quantitative animal movement analysis with a low-cost, open-source solution.

scholarly journals Testing methods for the assessment of chemical neurotoxic effects on the developing organisms in pre- and postnatal period

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
IO Rashkivska ◽  
NM Nedopytanska ◽  
PG Zhminko ◽  
NО Kornuta ◽  
YaV Kolyanchuk
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
The Body ◽  
Chemical Safety ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Neurotoxic Effects ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Oecd Guideline

Aim of the research. Analysis of approaches to the assessment of neurotoxic effects of chemicals during ontogenesis. The dangerous tendency of the increase in the incidence of pathology of the nervous system in the child and the mother, who during pregnancy was exposed to neurotoxicants, necessitates the protection of the child’s body from such a negative effect of chemicals. One of the possible preventive ways to solve this problem is screening of xenobiotics before their widespread application, as well as identification of their ability to cause neurotoxic effects on the body during its development, and banning substances, neurotoxic effects of which on the development of progeny are proven. Materials and Methods. Detection of adverse effects at the stage of foetal development and then at the beginning of the functioning of a nervous system in the postnatal period requires complex experimental studies in laboratory animals, which are described in the recommendations of OECD guideline 426 (OECD Guideline for Testing of Chemicals; Guideline 426: Developmental Neurotoxicity Study, 2007). The OECD guideline 426 protocol provides for a wide range of methods for assessing sensory, motor, behavioural and cognitive functions. Conclusions. Analysis of data given in publications and methodological approaches to research and evaluation of neurotoxic effects of chemicals on the developing organism showed that to obtain representative results it is important to take into account all factors that may affect the result, select adequate informative tests and comply with all requirements. In Ukraine, international methodological approaches to the study of neurotoxic effects of pesticides on the body at the stage of development in the process of ontogenesis are applied at the L.I. Medved’s Research Center of Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety, Ministry of Health, Ukraine (State Enterprise), Kyiv, Ukraine. Key Words: nervous system, neurotoxic effects, OECD guideline 426, neurobehavioral tests.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document