James Charles Stewart

Contextualized phenovectors reveal a Drosophila serotonergic circuit controlling satiety

The paper uses a contextualized ethomics approach to show that Trhn serotonergic neurons in Drosophila control satiety, while other circuits only produce fragmented behavioral changes.

A mushroom-body output neuron that mediates octopamine-driven and hunger-motivated feeding in Drosophila

The paper identifies a mushroom-body output neuron (MBON11) that mediates octopamine-driven and hunger-motivated feeding in Drosophila through synaptic connections with specific neuromodulatory neurons.

Entirely synthetic memory inception via dual optogenetic activation of sensory and dopaminergic neurons

The paper shows that optogenetic activation of sensory and dopaminergic neurons can induce synthetic associative memories in vinegar flies, demonstrating that simple coincident stimulation is sufficient for memory formation.

Contingent-behavior assay to study the neurogenetics of addiction shows zebrafish preference for alcohol is biphasic

The paper develops a zebrafish assay to study alcohol preference, finding a biphasic response where low alcohol concentrations are attractive and high concentrations are avoided.

Automated leg tracking reveals distinct conserved gait and tremor signatures in Drosophila models of Parkinson’s Disease and Spinocerebellar ataxia 3

The paper develops FLLIT, a machine-learning tool for automated leg tracking in Drosophila, revealing distinct gait and tremor signatures in PD and SCA3 models.

Optogenetic olfactory behavior depends on illumination characteristics

This study shows that optogenetic-induced olfactory behaviors in Drosophila depend on light intensity and oscillation frequency, highlighting the need for varied illumination regimes in experiments.

Potent optogenetic inhibition of behavior with anion channelrhodopsins

The paper demonstrates that anion channelrhodopsins can effectively inhibit various behaviors in Drosophila, highlighting their utility in circuit analysis.