Aravinthan D. T. Samuel

Gain Control of Peripheral Input by Core Brain Thermosensors Drives Drosophila Thermoregulation

The paper identifies core brain thermosensors in Drosophila larvae that regulate thermoregulation by modulating the behavioral response to peripheral temperature inputs.

Brain-wide representations of olfactory behavior in C. elegans

The paper analyzes brain-wide neural activity in C. elegans during olfactory navigation and identifies functional circuits linking sensory input to motor behavior across different environments and behavioral states.

The larval Drosophila mushroom body balances lateralized sensing and interhemispheric integration

The paper investigates how the Drosophila larval mushroom body integrates left and right olfactory information and balances lateralized sensing with interhemispheric integration.

RAEM: random-access electron microscopy for revisitable 3D imaging

RAEM enables targeted, multi-resolution imaging of biological specimens by combining low-resolution 3D surveys with high-resolution imaging of specific regions.

Permeabilization with fenchone enhances cryopreservation of Drosophila embryos

This study improves Drosophila embryo cryopreservation by replacing limonene with fenchone, increasing survival rates and cryoprotectant uptake.

The dynamic response of the bacterial flagellar motor to its direct intracellular input signal

This paper demonstrates that activation of 1-3 CheY-P molecules is sufficient to switch the bacterial flagellar motor from CCW to CW, resolving a long-standing paradox about chemotactic sensitivity.

Efficient pheromone navigation via antagonistic detectors in Caenorhabditis elegans male

This paper shows that C. elegans males use an antagonistic sensory system to navigate pheromone gradients, with head and tail neurons having opposing roles in movement control.

SmartEM: machine-learning guided electron microscopy

SmartEM accelerates electron microscopy image acquisition by using machine learning to intelligently allocate imaging time, achieving up to 7-fold speedup in connectomic samples.

Torque-generating units of the bacterial flagellar motor are rotary motors

The paper demonstrates that bacterial flagellar motor stator units are rotary motors, with MotA pentamers rotating faster than the rotor, revealing a gear-like mechanism.

The anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug valproic acid attracts C. elegans and activates chemosensory neurons via a cGMP signaling pathway

This study shows valproic acid attracts C. elegans and activates chemosensory neurons via a cGMP signaling pathway involving tax-4, rGCs, and GPCRs.

A multisensory, bidirectional, valence encoder guides behavioral decisions

The paper identifies a neuron in Drosophila larvae that bi-directionally encodes valence and guides navigation based on sensory cues.

EM-Compressor: Electron Microscopy Image Compression in Connectomics with Variational Autoencoders

EM-Compressor uses Variational Autoencoders to compress EM images for connectomics, reducing data size to 1/128th while preserving features needed for segmentation.

mEMbrain: an interactive deep learning MATLAB tool for connectomic segmentation on commodity desktops

mEMbrain provides an interactive MATLAB tool for connectomic segmentation, enabling user-friendly analysis of EM datasets with pre-trained networks and ground truth annotations.

Functional imaging and quantification of multi-neuronal olfactory responses in C. elegans

The paper studies how C. elegans chemosensory neurons encode olfactory information through ensemble activity and natural stimuli.

Extrasynaptic signaling enables an asymmetric juvenile motor circuit to produce a symmetric gait

The paper shows that juvenile C. elegans generate symmetric motor patterns through an asymmetric motor circuit, with dorsal bending driven by synaptic wiring and ventral bending via extrasynaptic signaling from premotor interneurons.

PEZO-1 and TRP-4 mechanosensors are involved in mating behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans

The paper investigates the roles of PEZO-1 and TRP-4 mechanosensors in C. elegans mating behavior, showing their involvement in multiple mating steps and mechanosensory functions.

Automated neuron tracking inside moving and deforming animals using deep learning and targeted augmentation

The paper develops a deep learning method with targeted augmentation to track neurons in moving C. elegans, reducing manual annotation needs and enabling analysis of neuronal behavior.

Post-embryonic maturation of the C. elegans motor circuit

The paper reconstructs the post-embryonic maturation of the C. elegans motor circuit using electron microscopy, showing how structural rewiring maintains functional output during development.

Circuits for integrating learnt and innate valences in the fly brain

The paper maps convergence neurons in Drosophila that integrate innate and learned olfactory drives to mediate action selection.

Natural sensory context drives diverse brain-wide activity during C. elegans mating

The paper studies brain-wide activity in C. elegans during mating, showing how sensory context shapes diverse neural dynamics across different behavioral components.

Synchronous and opponent thermosensors use flexible cross-inhibition to orchestrate thermal homeostasis

The paper identifies Warming Cells and Cooling Cells in Drosophila that use cross-inhibition to regulate thermal homeostasis through coordinated behavioral responses.

Automated control of odor dynamics for neurophysiology and behavior

This study develops a method to precisely control odor dynamics and uses it to analyze olfactory neural processing and larval Drosophila behavior.

Connectomes across development reveal principles of brain maturation

This study uses connectomics to show how brain circuits change with age in C. elegans, revealing principles of brain maturation through structural and functional remodeling.

An olfactory pattern generator for on-demand combinatorial control of receptor activities

The paper introduces an olfactory pattern generator to systematically study combinatorial receptor codes in Drosophila larvae by on-demand activation of specific olfactory receptor neurons.

Corollary Discharge Promotes a Sustained Motor State in a Neural Circuit for Navigation

This study shows that corollary discharge from the motor circuit to the sensory processing circuit in C. elegans sustains motor state during thermotactic navigation.

Internal state configures olfactory behavior and early sensory processing in Drosophila larvae

This study shows how food deprivation alters olfactory behavior in Drosophila larvae by changing neural processing in the antennal lobe through state-dependent circuit dynamics.

NeuroPAL: A Neuronal Polychromatic Atlas of Landmarks for Whole-Brain Imaging in C. elegans

The paper introduces NeuroPAL, a multicolor transgene for neuronal identification in C. elegans, and demonstrates its use in mapping neurotransmitter receptors, cell fate changes, and brain activity.

Extracting neural signals from semi-immobilized animals with deformable non-negative matrix factorization

This paper introduces a deformable non-negative matrix factorization method to extract neural signals from moving animals, outperforming traditional methods on simulated and real data.

Integration of plasticity mechanisms within a single sensory neuron of C. elegans actuates a memory

The paper shows how two plasticity mechanisms in a single C. elegans neuron encode thermosensory information and actuate a temperature-preference memory.

Neuroendocrine Modulation Sustains the C. elegans Forward Motor State

The paper identifies a neuroendocrine neuron, RID, in C. elegans that sustains forward movement through the neuropeptide FLP-14.