Body patterning and brain lateralization

In cephalopods, instantaneous changes of colors are neurally controlled so that body patterning may be considered as an « open window » on brain functioning. On the motor side of color changes, NECC is focusing on the fine analysis of body patterns and address the question of whether the different chromatic components can be elicited individually or linked to each other. This work is done in collaboration with Sussex University (UK). On the sensory side, the lab studies whether the information from the left eye is prioritized for body pattern matching (black and white checkerboard) while information from the right eye is prioritized for brightness matching, in collaboration with the University of Trento (Italy). To explain these processes at a brain level, NECC is particularly focusing on the asymmetries in the serotonergic systems.