Senior Fellow in Experimental Neurobiology
Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Senior Fellow
greenspan@nsi.edu

My research focuses on genetic influences on behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila. These studies include: the demonstration that the fly has a sleep-like behavior similar to that of mammals, the production of highly localized genetic alterations in the nervous system to alter behavior, molecular identification of genes causing naturally occurring variation in behaviors such as foraging, geotaxis, and aggression, studies of the circuitry underlying 'innate' courtship behavior; studies of the physiology and circuitry underlying salience responses and arousal states, and studies of the structure and function of gene networks. A recently begun effort in the lab also looks at the evolution of mechanisms of behavior in organisms with primitive nervous systems (jellyfish) and pre-nervous systems (Trichoplax and Paramecium).

Recent Publications

Dierick, H.A. and Greenspan, R.J. (2006) Molecular analysis of flies selected for aggressive behavior. Nature Genetics 38: 1023-1031.

Andretic, R., van Swinderen, B. and Greenspan, R.J. (2005) Dopaminergic modulation of arousal in Drosophila. Current Biology 15: 1165-1175.

van Swinderen, B. and Greenspan, R.J. (2005) Flexibility in a gene network affecting a simple behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 169: 2151-2163.

Broughton, S.J., Kitamoto, T. and Greenspan, R.J. (2004) Excitatory and inhibitory switches for courtship in the brain of Drosophila melanogaster. Current Biology 14: 538-547.

van Swinderen, B., Nitz, D.A. and Greenspan, R.J. (2004) "Uncoupling of brain activity from movement defines arousal states in Drosophila." Current Biology 14: 81-87.

van Swinderen, B. and Greenspan, R.J. (2003) "Salience Modulates 20-30 Hz Brain Activity in Drosophila." Nature Neuroscience 6: 579-586.

Nitz, D.A., van Swinderen, B., Tononi, G. and Greenspan, R.J. (2002) Electrophysiological correlates of rest and activity in Drosophila melanogaster. Current Biology 12: 1934-1940.

Toma, D.P., White, K.P., Hirsch, J. and Greenspan, R.J. (2002) Identification of genes involved in Drosophila melanogaster geotaxis, a complex behavioral trait. Nature Genetics 31: 349-353.

Shaw, P.J., Tononi, Greenspan, R.J. and Robinson, D.F. (2002) Stress response genes protect against the lethal effects of sleep deprivation in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 417: 287-291.

Shaw, P.J., Cirelli, C., Greenspan, R.J. and Tononi, G. (2000) Correlates of sleep and waking in Drosophila melanogaster. Science 287: 1834-1837.

Reviews

Kendler, K.S. and Greenspan, R.J. (2006) The nature of genetic influences on behavior: Lessons from “simpler” organisms. Am. J. Psychiatry 163: 1683-1694.

Greenspan, R.J. (2005) No critter left behind: An invertebrate renaissance. Curr. Biol. 15: R671-R672.

Greenspan, R.J. and van Swinderen, B. (2004) Cognitive consonance: Complex brain functions in the fruit fly and its relatives. Trends in Neurosciences 27: 707-711.

Greenspan, R.J. (2004) E pluribus unum, ex uno plura: Quantitative- and single-gene perspectives on the study of behavior. Annual Review of Neuroscience 27: 79-105.

Greenspan, R.J. (2001) The flexible genome. Nature Reviews Genetics 2: 383-387.

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