@christophgiez.bsky.social
HFSP Postdoctoral fellow @crick.ac.uk, EMBO fellow alumni, Postdoc in the Neuronal Circuits and Evolution Lab
Working on evolution of neuronal circuits #Drosophila
#Neuroscience | #Evolution | Neuronal #Circuits | #Connectome | #Olfaction 🪼🪰
Working on evolution of neuronal circuits #Drosophila
#Neuroscience | #Evolution | Neuronal #Circuits | #Connectome | #Olfaction 🪼🪰
Reposted
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...
rdcu.be
October 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Reposted
By comparing differently tuned glomeruli, this work shows that the brain uses different circuit layouts for specialised vs general smells, offering new insight into how odour meaning is encoded.
buff.ly/XDmo4Ue
buff.ly/XDmo4Ue
October 25, 2025 at 10:44 PM
By comparing differently tuned glomeruli, this work shows that the brain uses different circuit layouts for specialised vs general smells, offering new insight into how odour meaning is encoded.
buff.ly/XDmo4Ue
buff.ly/XDmo4Ue
Reposted
Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)!
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
October 23, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)!
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
Reposted
Come join the #LondonEvoDevo network half day meeting, hosted at @ucl.ac.uk on Friday November 7th, 2025. Submit your abstract by Oct 27th (or your interest in joining) here: forms.gle/TRbdrCkQTcY2.... Friendly vibes and free registration. More info here: londonevodevo.co.uk.
LondonEvoDevo
meeting's website
londonevodevo.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Come join the #LondonEvoDevo network half day meeting, hosted at @ucl.ac.uk on Friday November 7th, 2025. Submit your abstract by Oct 27th (or your interest in joining) here: forms.gle/TRbdrCkQTcY2.... Friendly vibes and free registration. More info here: londonevodevo.co.uk.
Reposted
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
Reposted
We're now recruiting early career group leaders at the Crick to lead ambitious research programmes and explore bold scientific questions.
Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.
Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.
Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
October 9, 2025 at 2:06 PM
We're now recruiting early career group leaders at the Crick to lead ambitious research programmes and explore bold scientific questions.
Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.
Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.
Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Reposted
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Prieto Godino Lab | Cellular and molecular bases of neural circuit and behavioural evolution
www.crick.ac.uk
October 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Reposted
Having personally sworn for years that insects don’t use GPCRs for odour detection, Suguru Takagi (@sugurutakagi.bsky.social) discovers that, in fact, they sometimes do …
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A GPCR signaling pathway in insect odor detection
Odor detection differs fundamentally in vertebrates, which use G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and insects, which employ ion channels. Here, we report the first evidence for a GPCR defining tunin...
www.biorxiv.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Having personally sworn for years that insects don’t use GPCRs for odour detection, Suguru Takagi (@sugurutakagi.bsky.social) discovers that, in fact, they sometimes do …
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted
Exciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
Male CNS Connectome
A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...
www.janelia.org
October 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Exciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
Reposted
🚨Preprint🚨
What started as an attempt to compare CT scans of diverse fly brains, ended up a new concept for analysis & segmentation of difficult tomographic data. No ground truths, no training, just maths. This is TopoTome, topological data analysis of 3D images
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
What started as an attempt to compare CT scans of diverse fly brains, ended up a new concept for analysis & segmentation of difficult tomographic data. No ground truths, no training, just maths. This is TopoTome, topological data analysis of 3D images
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 30, 2025 at 9:58 AM
🚨Preprint🚨
What started as an attempt to compare CT scans of diverse fly brains, ended up a new concept for analysis & segmentation of difficult tomographic data. No ground truths, no training, just maths. This is TopoTome, topological data analysis of 3D images
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
What started as an attempt to compare CT scans of diverse fly brains, ended up a new concept for analysis & segmentation of difficult tomographic data. No ground truths, no training, just maths. This is TopoTome, topological data analysis of 3D images
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted
The final version of our paper on how ants and possibly other insects use a crazy mechanism involving extensive transcriptional interference to regulate odorant receptor expression is now open access in my favorite journal, @currentbiology.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The final version of our paper on how ants and possibly other insects use a crazy mechanism involving extensive transcriptional interference to regulate odorant receptor expression is now open access in my favorite journal, @currentbiology.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Reposted
A new study in ants from @danielkronauer.bsky.social reveals a previously unknown mechanism that ensures that each olfactory neuron expresses only one odorant receptor, with broad implications for the study of gene regulation. #RockefellerScience
https://bit.ly/4pwPFLY
https://bit.ly/4pwPFLY
September 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A new study in ants from @danielkronauer.bsky.social reveals a previously unknown mechanism that ensures that each olfactory neuron expresses only one odorant receptor, with broad implications for the study of gene regulation. #RockefellerScience
https://bit.ly/4pwPFLY
https://bit.ly/4pwPFLY
Reposted
You just finished your PhD and you are looking for a postdoc to study stress-dependent modulation of learning. We are using the powerful fly model to understand the underlying circuits and mechanisms. You can apply here:
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
Portail Emploi CNRS - Offre d'emploi - Postdoc position (M/F) in Neuroscience, stress modulation of learning (H/F)
emploi.cnrs.fr
September 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
You just finished your PhD and you are looking for a postdoc to study stress-dependent modulation of learning. We are using the powerful fly model to understand the underlying circuits and mechanisms. You can apply here:
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U...
Reposted
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
August 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Neuronal diversity is written in transcriptional codes 🧬. But what is the logic of these codes that define cell types and wiring patterns?
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
To find out we built a #scRNAseq developmental atlas of the Drosophila nerve cord and linked it to the #connectome 🪰🧠
#preprint thread ⬇️1/8
Reposted
Some behaviors are genetic, not learned, which means, theoretically, that they are transferable.
That is exactly what this experiment demonstrated. Manipulation of one gene made one species of fruit fly gain the behavior of another. 🧪
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
That is exactly what this experiment demonstrated. Manipulation of one gene made one species of fruit fly gain the behavior of another. 🧪
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
August 17, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Some behaviors are genetic, not learned, which means, theoretically, that they are transferable.
That is exactly what this experiment demonstrated. Manipulation of one gene made one species of fruit fly gain the behavior of another. 🧪
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
That is exactly what this experiment demonstrated. Manipulation of one gene made one species of fruit fly gain the behavior of another. 🧪
Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted
Thank you @thetransmitter.bsky.social and @martajhill.bsky.social for highlighting our work!
Some parts of the Drosophila olfactory circuit have evolved more than others, according to a new comparison of two fruit fly species’ connectomes.
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
Cross-species connectome comparison shows uneven olfactory circuit evolution in flies
The findings start to reveal evolutionary changes that may have helped two species develop different olfactory preferences and adapt to their particular environments.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Thank you @thetransmitter.bsky.social and @martajhill.bsky.social for highlighting our work!
Reposted
Exciting new paper from the Bahl lab @bahllab.bsky.social @zwitscherarmin.bsky.social and Katja Slangewal about parallel and convergent processing pathways of different visual features in the larval zebrafish brain🐟
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Parallel and convergent pathways for multifeature visual processing in larval zebrafish sensorimotor decision-making
Animals continuously extract and evaluate diverse sensory information from the environment to guide behavior. Yet, how neural circuits integrate multiple, potentially conflicting, inputs during decisi...
www.biorxiv.org
August 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Exciting new paper from the Bahl lab @bahllab.bsky.social @zwitscherarmin.bsky.social and Katja Slangewal about parallel and convergent processing pathways of different visual features in the larval zebrafish brain🐟
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted
Some parts of the Drosophila olfactory circuit have evolved more than others, according to a new comparison of two fruit fly species’ connectomes.
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
Cross-species connectome comparison shows uneven olfactory circuit evolution in flies
The findings start to reveal evolutionary changes that may have helped two species develop different olfactory preferences and adapt to their particular environments.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Some parts of the Drosophila olfactory circuit have evolved more than others, according to a new comparison of two fruit fly species’ connectomes.
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
By @martajhill.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/c...
Reposted
With @megyounger.bsky.social's lab, et al., we present the first connectomics work in the disease-vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, revealing how its brain is wired to detect host cues.
Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
August 3, 2025 at 3:51 AM
With @megyounger.bsky.social's lab, et al., we present the first connectomics work in the disease-vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, revealing how its brain is wired to detect host cues.
Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
Reposted
New preprint from @darbly.bsky.social @briandepasquale.bsky.social and my labs! If you love (or hate) mosquitoes, have a look:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We used TEM to describe the circuitry used for CO2 detection by mosquitoes. As usual with mosquitoes, nothing is as expected! 🌬️🦟
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We used TEM to describe the circuitry used for CO2 detection by mosquitoes. As usual with mosquitoes, nothing is as expected! 🌬️🦟
Recurrent connectivity supports carbon dioxide sensitivity in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
The mosquito Aedes aegypti′s human host-seeking behavior depends on the integration of multiple sensory cues. One of these cues, carbon dioxide (CO2), gates odorant and heat pathways and activates hos...
doi.org
July 31, 2025 at 12:28 PM
New preprint from @darbly.bsky.social @briandepasquale.bsky.social and my labs! If you love (or hate) mosquitoes, have a look:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We used TEM to describe the circuitry used for CO2 detection by mosquitoes. As usual with mosquitoes, nothing is as expected! 🌬️🦟
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We used TEM to describe the circuitry used for CO2 detection by mosquitoes. As usual with mosquitoes, nothing is as expected! 🌬️🦟
Reposted
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
July 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
Reposted
Finally it's out! www.nature.com/articles/s41... How flexible are essential innate behaviours and their underlying neural circuits? @felixbaier.bsky.social & I, with Hopi Hoekstra and @farrowlab.bsky.social, addressed this by studying the #evolution of threat avoidance in Peromyscus mice.
The neural basis of species-specific defensive behaviour in Peromyscus mice - Nature
Visual threat triggers contrasting freeze and escape defensive responses in two species of deer mice as a result of different activation thresholds downstream of the superior colliculus in the do...
www.nature.com
July 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Finally it's out! www.nature.com/articles/s41... How flexible are essential innate behaviours and their underlying neural circuits? @felixbaier.bsky.social & I, with Hopi Hoekstra and @farrowlab.bsky.social, addressed this by studying the #evolution of threat avoidance in Peromyscus mice.
Reposted
Lineage-resolved analysis of embryonic gene expression evolution in C. elegans and C. briggsae | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 😍
Lineage-resolved analysis of embryonic gene expression evolution in C. elegans and C. briggsae
The constraints that govern the evolution of gene expression patterns across development remain unclear. Single-cell RNA sequencing can detail these constraints by systematically profiling homologous ...
www.science.org
June 20, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Lineage-resolved analysis of embryonic gene expression evolution in C. elegans and C. briggsae | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 😍