Sarah J. Nicholas

The paper identifies differences in how two types of descending neurons in hoverflies encode visual information from small targets, revealing distinct pathways for target pursuit and threat detection.

The paper investigates sexual dimorphism in sensorimotor transformation of optic flow in hoverflies, finding dimorphic neural responses but monomorphic behavioral output.

The paper shows that piRNA pathways in insect ovaries defend against gypsy retrotransposons, with lineage-specific mechanisms across species.

The paper develops and tests computational models of TSDN circuits in hoverflies to explain how background motion modulates target responses, finding that simple inhibition from LPTCs explains facilitation and suppression.

The paper identifies dual receptive fields in descending neurons of hoverflies that respond to both small targets and looming/widefield stimuli, supporting complex visual behaviors.

The paper studies how target-tuned neurons in male hoverflies respond to reconstructed pursuit trajectories, finding that individual neurons respond to specific parts of the pursuit while the population covers a larger proportion.

The paper shows that hoverfly target selective descending neurons (TSDNs) are attenuated by background optic flow in the same direction as target motion, but facilitated by opposite direction flow, aiding in target pursuit.