NEIL VICKERS

Dr. Vickers' research group in Utah is focused on understanding the behavioral strategies and processes that flying insects use to locate important resources, such as mates and food, in their natural environments. This approach serves as framework for then investigating the neural underpinnings of these naturally occurring behaviors or neuroethology.  We primarily study moth and mosquito flight behaviors that are mediated by scalar cues such as pheromone odors and carbon dioxide. Then, using the information gathered from behavioral studies as context, we investigate the neurobiology of sensory systems (such as the sense of smell) to uncover how the brain detects, processes and integrates information in a way that allows the animal to make adaptive responses.