Advanced Techniques in Biology & Medicine
Open Access
ISSN: 2379-1764
+44 1223 790975
ISSN: 2379-1764
+44 1223 790975
Zion Tsz Ho Tse
Medical Robotics Laboratory, College of Engineering,
Athens, Georgia
Russia
Research Article
Pneumatic transport system for associative learning in Drosophila melanogaster
Author(s): Austin J Taylor, Jin Dai, Alex Squires, Ping Shen and Zion Tsz Ho TseAustin J Taylor, Jin Dai, Alex Squires, Ping Shen and Zion Tsz Ho Tse
A widely used associative learning technique for biological studies involves introducing Drosophila larvae to two different odorants and associating one of the odorants with a stimulus. The experimental method requires transferring the larvae back and forth between two odor chambers. Each chamber contains a different odorant and one of the chambers contains an accompanying stimulus. By introducing the larvae to the two different odorants several times, the larvae are trained to commit the odorant associated with the stimulus to memory. We created a mechatronic system for transporting Drosophila larvae back and forth between two agar trays to reduce manual labor and enable a scalable platform for associative learning and related studies. Air was chosen as the means of transporting the larvae and a chamber was constructed for housing the two agar trays. Control electronics were implemen.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2379-1764.1000251