• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.

  • Home
  • About LMB
  • Research
  • Research Groups
  • Students
  • Recruitment
  • Life at the LMB
  • Achievements
  • News & Events
Home > Research Leaders > T to Z > Marta Zlatic
Marta Zlatic nb

Marta Zlatic

Circuit mechanisms of learning and action-selection

mzlatic@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

 

The Zlatic lab aims to understand the relationship between the structure of the nervous system and its function and to discover the basic principles by which neural circuits implement fundamental computations. A major focus of our research is the circuit implementation of learning and decision-making. For the nervous system to select appropriate responses to multiple, often conflicting cues present in the environment it must be able to 1) learn which sensory cues are associated with rewards and punishments; 2) compute the “predicted value” of each action based on the learnt information; 3) select one action and suppress other physically incompatible competing actions; 4) update memories when predicted and actual outcomes differ to improve future decision-making.

We aim to discover the circuit motifs that implement these four functions, the comprehensive set of structural changes in the brain that are involved in storing specific memories, and the genes required in specific neurons for these computations. We use the tractable genetic model system, the Drosophila melanogaster larva which has the same ground-plan as the adult Drosophila and other insects, but contains fewer (ca. 12,000) and smaller neurons. In this system we can i) image the entire nervous system at synaptic resolution with electron microscopy, and map complete circuits with synaptic resolution, ii) record individual neurons with patch-clamp, iii) image the activity of all neurons at once in intact animals (through the transparent cuticle) with light-sheet microscopy, iv) constrain models of circuit function with comprehensive structural and functional connectivity maps, and iv) use powerful genetic tools to selectively manipulate individual neurons to test models’ predictions and elucidate the functional roles of specific circuit motifs.

https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/ssTEM_MBINSMBONSFBNsFANsFB2INsFFNs_rotating_CONVERTED_3.mp4

EM Reconstruction of the Learning Center (Mushroom Body)

https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Movie-6_3.mp4

Automated high-throughput behavior detection


Circuitry for sensing punishments and mediating escape
Circuitry for sensing punishments and mediating escape
Neuron-behavior map of the larval nervous system
Neuron-behavior map of the larval nervous system

Selected Papers

  • Eschbach C., Fushiki A., Winding M., Afonso B., Andrade I.V., Cocanougher B.T., Eichler K., Gepner R., Si G., Valdes-Aleman J., Gershow M., Gefferis G.S.X.E., Truman W.J., Fetter R.D., Samuel A., Cardona A. and Zlatic M. (2020)
    Circuits for integrating learnt and innate valences in the insect brain.
    bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.23.058339
  • Cocanougher B. T., Wittenbach J. D., Long X., Kohn A. B., Norekian T. P., Yan J., Colonell J., MassonJ. B., Truman J. W., Cardona A., Turga S., Singer R. H., Moroz L. L., and Zlatic M. (2019)
    Compara-tive single-cell transcriptomics of complete insect nervous systems.
    bioRXiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/785931
  • Valdes-Aleman J., Fetter R. D., Sales E. C., Heckman E. L., Doe C. Q., Landgraf M., Cardona A. and Zlatic M. (2020)
    Synaptic specificity is collectively determined by partner identity, location and activity.
    Neuron S0896-6273(20): 30772-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.10.004
  • Eschbach C., Fushiki A., Winding M., Schneider-Mizell C. M., Shao M., Arruda B., Eichler K., Valdes-Aleman J., Thum A. S., Gerber B., Fetter R. D., Truman W. J., Litwin-Kumar A., Cardona A. and Zlatic M. (2020)
    Recurrent architecture for adaptive regulation of learn in the insect brain.
    Nature Neuroscience 23: 544-555.
  • Masson J. B., Laurent F., Cardona A., Barre C., Skatchkovsky N., Zlatic M. and Jovanic T. (2020)
    Neural substrates of competitive interactions and sequence transitions during mechanosensory responses in Drosophila.
    PLoS Genetics, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008589
  • Jovanic T., Winding M., Cardona A., Truman J. W., Gershow M. and Zlatic M. (2019)
    Neuronal substrates of Drosophila larval anemotaxis.
    Current Biology 29: 1-13.
  • Eichler K., Li F., Kumar A. L., Andrade I., Schneider-Mizell C., Saumweber T., Huser A., Gerber, B., Fetter R. D., Truman J. W., Abbott L. F., Thum A., Zlatic, M. and Cardona A. (2017)
    The complete connectome of a learning and memory centre in an insect brain
    Nature 548(7666): 175-182.
  • Jovanic, T. S.-M., C.M.; Shao, M.; Masson, J.B.; Denisov, G.; Fetter, R.D.; Truman, J.W.; Cardona, A. and Zlatic, M. (2016)
    Competitive disinhibition in early sensory processing mediates behavioral choice and seqeunces in Drosophila
    Cell 167(3): 858-870.
  • Ohyama, T. et al. (2015)
    A multilevel multimodal circuit enhances action selection in Drosophila
    Nature 520: 633-639.
  • Vogelstein, J. T. et al. (2014)
    Discovery of brainwide neural-behavioral maps via multiscale unsupervised structure learning
    Science 344: 386-392.
...

Group Members

  • Nicolo Ceffa
  • Michael Clayton
  • Elise Croteau-Chonka
  • Basel El Galfi
  • Claire Eschbach
  • Ivana Henry
  • Nan Hu
  • François Laurent
  • David Nguyen
  • Nadine Randel
  • Miranda Robbins
  • Mohammad Hadi Saiepour
  • Andrey Stoychev
  • Lalanti Venkatasubramanian
  • Michael Winding
  • Marta Zlatic

Primary Sidebar

Research Leaders

  • A to G
    • Radu Aricescu
    • David Barford
    • Buzz Baum
    • Anne Bertolotti
    • Mariann Bienz
    • John Briggs
    • Simon Bullock
    • Albert Cardona
    • Andrew Carter
    • Jason Chin
    • Gerry Crossan
    • Emmanuel Derivery
    • Benjamin Falcon
    • Michel Goedert
    • Julian Gough
    • Ingo Greger
  • H to M
    • Michael Hastings
    • Ramanujan Hegde
    • Richard Henderson
    • Philipp Holliger
    • Leo James
    • Gregory Jefferis
    • Patrycja Kozik
    • Madeline Lancaster
    • Jan Löwe
    • Kate McDole
    • Andrew McKenzie
    • Harvey McMahon
    • Liz Miller
    • Sean Munro
    • Garib Murshudov
  • N to S
    • Kiyoshi Nagai (1949-2019)
    • David Neuhaus
    • Kelly Nguyen
    • John O’Neill
    • Lori Passmore
    • Venki Ramakrishnan
    • Felix Randow
    • Jing Ren
    • Katja Röper
    • Christopher Russo
    • Julian Sale
    • William Schafer
    • Sjors Scheres
    • Marta Shahbazi
    • John Sutherland
  • T to Z
    • Chris Tate
    • Rebecca Taylor
    • Marco Tripodi
    • Ana Tufegdžić Vidaković
    • Roger Williams
    • Joseph Yeeles
    • Marta Zlatic
  • Emeritus
    • Brad Amos
    • Tony Crowther
    • Phil Evans
    • Alan Fersht
    • Michael Gait
    • Rob Kay
    • John Kendrick-Jones
    • John Kilmartin
    • Peter Lawrence
    • Andrew Leslie
    • Hugh Pelham
    • Daniela Rhodes
    • Murray Stewart
    • Andrew Travers
    • Nigel Unwin
    • Greg Winter
  • LMB Fellows
  • Molecular Immunity Unit

Search

  • Privacy & Cookies
  • Contact Directory
  • Freedom of Information
  • Site Map
Find Us
©2021 MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. 01223 267000

The MRC is part of UK Research and Innovation

[ Placeholder content for popup link ] WordPress Download Manager - Best Download Management Plugin