Prof. Frederic Libersat
Born: 1960, France
Academic Qualifications:
    Ph.D. 1986, Bordeaux University
Academic Positions:
Department of Life Sciences - Professor
Department of Life Sciences - Head
Research Interests:
Neurobiology of animal behavior.
Research Projects:
Neurobiology of arousal in a simple system. Neuroethology of parasitoid wasps
Abstracts of Current Research:
  • Neurobiology of arousal in a simple system: Animals need to shape their behavior to be appropriate for internal and external conditions. Forinstance, a stimulus known to initiate a certain behavior in an animal, will or will not elicit thatbehavior at any given time depending on the intensity of the stimulus and the internal state of theanimal. This internal state, which determines, among other behavioral features, the threshold forinitiation of behavior, is called the arousal state. Such an arousal state is thought to be controlledby neuromodulators. However, how and where these neuromodulators act in the nervous system tocontrol the arousal level, and consequently produce changes in behavior, is still poorly understoodon a mechanistic level. The alteration of host behavior by parasites is a widespread phenomenon. For instance, the waspAmpullex compressa subdues its prey, the cockroach, by injecting venom into the head apparentlydirectly into the central nervous system. While the vast majority of venomous insects produceparalysis in their prey, A. compressa utilizes a unique biochemical strategy: behavioralmodulation. The inflicted prey animal is rendered unable to organize an escape sequence, butremains ambulatory and is subsequently led by the predator to a suitable oviposition location,where is serves as a nutritional source for the wasp`s young. It is hypothesized that the centralnervous system of the prey animal loses its normal ability to activate modulator circuits involvedin behavioral arousal. Given the distinctive effect of the venom on cockroach arousal, thisneurotoxin provides us with a specific tool with which to explore the mechanisms controlling ananimal`s arousal state. The first specific aim of our current research is to describe the biochemical composition A.compressa venom, and identify the component(s) - termed here ``anti-arousal toxin(s)`` (AAT) thatare involved in behavioral modulation of prey. Amino acid sequence information of candidate
Publications:
  • Gal R, Libersat F. . A Parasitoid Wasp Manipulates the Drive for Walking of Its Cockroach Prey. Current Biology 18: 877-82 (2008)
  • Rosenberg LA, Glusman JG and Libersat F . Octopamine partially restores walking in hypokinetic cockroaches stung by the parasitoid wasp Ampulex compressa Journal of Experimental Biology 210: 4411-4417 (2007)
  • Libersat F, Duch C. . Mechanisms of dendritic maturation. Mol. Neurobiol. 29: 303-20. (2004)
  • Libersat F. . Wasp uses venom cocktail to manipulate the behavior of its cockroach prey. J. Comp. Physiol. A. 189: 497-508 (2003)
  • Haspel G, Rosenberg LA, Libersat F. . Direct injection of venom by a predatory wasp into cockroach brain. J. Neurobiol. 56: 287-92 (2003)
Keywords:Neurophysiology, Neuroethology, Neurotoxin, Insects, Neuroanatomy, Neuronal Circuit.
Links:Personal Homepage
Phones:
  1. Phone: 972-8-6472112
  2. Fax: 972-8-6472890
Email:libersat@bgu.ac.il