Jösch Group
Neuroethology
Maximilian Jösch and his team study the neuronal basis of innate behaviors, i.e. the processes implemented by neuronal circuits to transform sensory information into motor commands. Using a combination of molecular and physiological approaches, they monitor brain activity during animal behavior to reveal the principles and motifs of neuronal computation.
Two different model organisms, the mouse and the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), are being used in parallel to take advantage of their unique strengths and gather a general, crossphyla understanding of computational principles. Experiments in the mouse will allow the group to study the mechanisms used by the nervous system to send behaviorally relevant information from the eye to the brain, e.g., to easily detect a red apple in the green foliage. By conducting experiments in the fly, the group intends to obtain comprehensive understanding of the molecular, anatomical, and physiological instructions conveyed by a highly defined circuit involved in course control. This is possible because neuronal circuits in the fly brain are highly stereotyped, allowing high throughput screenings of the behavioral role of identified cells.
Group Leader
Administrative Support
Team
Current Projects
Comprehensive mapping of the behavioral repertoire instructed by defined neuronal circuitries | Role of electrical synapses in sensory transformations | Mechanisms of visual saliency and attention | State dependent modulation of sensory information | Sensorimotor transformation in the superior colliculus
Publications
Pokusaeva V, Satapathy RK, Symonova O, Jösch MA. 2024. Bilateral interactions of optic-flow sensitive neurons coordinate course control in flies. Nature Communications. 15, 8830. View
Burnett L, Koppensteiner P, Symonova O, Masson T, Vega Zuniga TA, Contreras X, Rülicke T, Shigemoto R, Novarino G, Jösch MA. 2024. Shared behavioural impairments in visual perception and place avoidance across different autism models are driven by periaqueductal grey hypoexcitability in Setd5 haploinsufficient mice. PLoS Biology. 22, e3002668. View
Reiner A, Medina L, Abellan A, Deng Y, Toledo CAB, Luksch H, Vega Zuniga TA, Riley NB, Hodos W, Karten HJ. 2024. Neurochemistry and circuit organization of the lateral spiriform nucleus of birds: A uniquely nonmammalian direct pathway component of the basal ganglia. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 532(5), e25620. View
Charlton JA, Mlynarski WF, Bai YH, Hermundstad AM, Goris RLT. 2023. Environmental dynamics shape perceptual decision bias. PLoS Computational Biology. 19(6), e1011104. View
Pokusaeva V. 2023. Neural control of optic flow-based navigation in Drosophila melanogaster. Institute of Science and Technology Austria. View
ReX-Link: Maximilian Jösch
Career
Since 2017 Assistant Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
2010 – 2016 Postdoc and Research Associate, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
2009 PhD, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany and Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
Selected Distinctions
2023 ERC Consolidator Grant
2017 ERC Starting Grant
2016 Article Recommendation by F1000
2014 Best Poster Award, Retina FASEB Meeting
2011 Otto Hahn Medal, Max Planck Society
2011 Best Neuroscience Article, Neuroforum
2010 HFSP Long-term Fellowship
2009 Summa Cum Laude, PhD thesis
