Abstract
Behavior is the final manifestation of gene and neural activities and the verification of neural circuit significance. Therefore, it is critical to make keen observations for wide varieties of behaviors in the Drosophila to deduce the functional circuitry under controlled neuronal manipulations. Here, I report two systems developed in my research that facilitate not only behavioral observations but also measurements and analysis for freely moving Drosophila adults. The ventral irradiated-automated laser tracking and optogenetic manipulation system (VI-ALTOMS) has been constructed for neural manipulation by laser and high speed motion analysis, adequate in screening neurogenomic type underlying behavioral phenotype for single or two flies. On the other hand, social behaviors among flies have been studied with multi-fly social behavior analysis system that equipped with programs analyzing interactions, such as approaching, leaving or staying together, among flies within a group. With the help of such a system, I have tried to establish a Drosophila model for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and investigated candidate genes for attention, hyper- or hypo- activities. Take the advantage of automated behavior analysis, researchers would be able to verify new hypotheses from disease associating genes, neuronal circuits, and environmental factors by automated, quantitative cognitive/behavioral screening of Drosophila, and reveal neural foundations for behaviors such as operant restraining memory or neuropsychiatric misconducts.