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Sophie Caron

@thecaronlab.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.2K following 70 posts

Je me souviens, Drosophila edition 🧪,🧠,🪰,🔥🧘🏻‍♀️&💗 Associate Professor School of Biological Sciences University of Utah www.thecaronlab.com

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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Merci Stéphane! 🤠
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Thank you Matthew! We are not sure but there is a mammalian Arc and people show that it regulates brain functions in a similar manner, ie capsids and modulating functions. Identifying donor and receiving cells in these brains is challenging but not impossible! @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social is on it!
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
10/10 Read the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Tell us what you think! As for our sleepy-head Arc mutant flies... they still have a few more surprises up their sleeves. So stay tuned for more.🧚‍♀️
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
9/10 The ✨dream team✨ Andrew Butts was supported by an incredible community of mentors created by the #NIH Genetics Training Grant at the @utah.edu.💗 Kylie DeNiro, did a ton of 🧪while finishing her major in @uofubiology.bsky.social . What a flex. 💪 and OC @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
8/10 TL;DR Arc capsid signaling links serotonergic neurons to dopaminergic neurons to regulate sleep. Not through classical neurotransmission. Not through a classical neuropeptide. Through a capsid-dependent signaling mechanism. ⬢⬡⬢
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
7/10 One clue came from previous work. The Zinn lab had found that Sas-Ptp10D can deliver Arc capsids between non-neuronal cells. Our data suggest the Sas-Ptp10D pathway may also contribute to Arc signaling between serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons. Much remains to be discovered. 🤠
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
6/10 How does Arc get from one cell to the other? It builds virus-like capsids. 🦠 Prevent Arc from making capsids, and the sleep phenotype stays. Capsid formation is essential for Arc to function.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
5/10 Where does Arc come from? Where does it go? Arc is expressed in a few neurons, mostly serotonergic ones. Remove it there, and flies sleep deeply, like mutants. Restore it in dopaminergic neurons, and flies sleep normally, like controls. How does the signal get from one cell to the other? 🚀
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
4/10 Arc mutant flies do not simply sleep more, they sleep a TON more.😴💤 They sleep DEEPER. Their sleep is more consolidated, they are harder to wake, and once awakened, they quickly fall back to sleep. Something fundamental about their brain state is changed.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
3/10 Andrew — just freshly minted Dr. Andrew Butts 😎 — had an idea: Dopaminergic neurons also regulate sleep. If Arc changes how these neurons function during learning... ...could it also change how flies sleep? Andrew was 💯 right.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
2/10 Hear us out: A while ago, we found that Arc mutant flies learn better than controls during a learning task. @barefeetsven.bsky.social found that they overvalue sugar rewards because their dopaminergic neurons are hyper responsive to sugar. We wondered: is Arc affecting other behaviors?
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
1/10 We all know that person... Fast asleep in the back of the seminar room. 😴 Suddenly, they WAKE UP 😳 ask the sharpest question ⚡ and everyone wonders whether they were listening all along. Our Arc mutant flies are THAT person. A thread! 🧶
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University of Utah School of Biological Sciences @uofubiology.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
PhD defended! 🎓 Eva Vigato explored how neural circuits shape olfactory attraction in #Drosophila—linking brain wiring to ecological interactions like yeast-derived odor cues. Congrats, Eva! PI: Sophie Caron www.thecaronlab.com #PhDLife26 #MCEB @uofu-science.bsky.social @Utah.edu
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Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Congrats to Andrew Butts in the @thecaronlab.bsky.social lab for both defending his PhD and for fully taking advantage of #mayfourth! #starwars 🧠 🧪
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Marcus Stensmyr @marcusstensmyr.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Genome of the Abominable Snowfly uncovers the mysteries of cold tolerance in a winter active insect! New cool (literally) paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social from Marco Gallio, @matthewcapek.bsky.social, @tuthill.bsky.social, myself, and fine colleagues! ⛄ 🦟 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Congratulations!! 💕❄️
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The Kavli Foundation @kavlifoundation.org · 13/02/2026
Register for “Behavioral & Evolutionary Adaptations to Changing Environments" here: neuronline.sfn.org/scientific-r... #KavliNeuro
neuronline.sfn.org
Behavioral and Evolutionary Adaptations to Changing Environments
<p>In this webinar, the speaker will cover data visualization in MATLAB for new users and brush up on topics for those who are familiar with MATLAB coding. </p>
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Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too! preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵 Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/9
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Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Reminder for neuro postdocs on the market - apply for this soon! Emory Biology is a fantastic place to start a lab
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Jess Smiley-Rhodes @j-smiley-rhodes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Thrilled to finally share the magnum opus of my PhD that focuses on the genetic basis of evolutionary change! Specifically, we know we can map the genetic basis of a trait, but can we tell which genes will underlie the trait shift when it evolves? doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org
High-resolution mapping of a rapidly evolving complex trait reveals genotype-phenotype stability and an unpredictable genetic architecture of adaptation
The extent to which adaptation can be predicted, particularly for traits with complex genetic bases, is unknown. Here, we leveraged a model complex trait, model species, and high-powered longitudinal ...
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Kristyn Lizbinski @kristyn-lizbinski.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Excited to share my most recent postdoctoral work in the Jeanne lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social ! “Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We ask: how is a sensory code transformed across multiple stages of processing to inform behavior?
biorxiv.org
Sensory processing reformats odor coding around valence and dynamics
Extracting relevant features of a complex sensory signal typically involves sequential processing through multiple brain regions. However, identifying the logic and mechanisms of these transformations...
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
14/ And for all the Utahns: Alex will defend his PhD next week. 🎉 Join us!! Come for the neuro-democracy, stay for the olfactory homunculus, and never underestimate the power of an outlier. 💗
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
13/ This work was led by the one and only Alexander MacKenzie with the brilliant and formidable @synapshotneuro.bsky.social and @jilianulibarri.bsky.social as well as many other teammates.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
🤓 TL;DR 12/ The fly mushroom body encodes an olfactory homunculus: fruit odors get the hand and are easily learned, while toxic odors get the foot and are poorly learned. Neuro-democracy: where every connection counts. Read all about it here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
11/ We cannot say for sure, but VL1 projection neurons likely gate plasticity through inhibition, shouting at Kenyon cells, yet keeping learning locked. (Maybe for the best: the VL1 projection neurons detect pyrrolidine, a real stinker. Better steer clear than to learn it as good! 😷)
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
10/ We biologists love a clean, simple rule, right? But then came the VL1 projection neurons... VL1 projection neurons break the rule — despite weak connectivity, they drive large Kenyon cell responses yet fail to support learning. Why, oh, WHY? 😫 #uglydatawreckingourbeautifultheoriesagain
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
9/ This connectivity–function relationship sets the stage for learning: odors that activate many Kenyon cells are easy to learn. Those that barely activate a few? Basically unlearnable. 🤡
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
8/ Likewise, odors that activate highly connected projection neurons, like fruit odors, drive broad Kenyon cell responses. Odors that activate poorly connected projection neurons, like those made by toxic microbes, not so much. 🍇🍎 Fruit odors get the hand. 🦠👾 Toxic microbe odors get the foot.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
7/ Structure matters. Highly connected projection neurons broadcast their signal loud and clear, reaching and activating many Kenyon cells. Weakly connected ones fade into the noise. What the brain builds, the brain listens to.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
6/ The wiring is mostly random — as predicted by theory — but some projection neurons connect far more often than chance. As if the dice were loaded. 🎲🎲🎲
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
5/ When looking at the connections between projection neurons and Kenyon cells we found clear biases. Some projection neurons connect up to fifteen times more often than others. Some occupied expansive stretches of connectivity estate, while others were left with just a narrow strip.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
4/ The mushroom body is built like an expansion layer: a small number of projection neurons feed into thousands of Kenyon cells. Classic theories predict that wiring is random, giving every odor an equal shot at being learned. 💯 But ugly data got in the way of these beautiful theories... 🧌
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
3/ Why? Learning centers like the mushroom body face an existential dilemma: they need enough coding capacity to represent as many stimuli as possible while still prioritizing cues that matter most for survival. How does the mushroom body balance this tension between capacity and selectivity?
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
2/ The fly brain does not treat all odors equally... rather it plays favorites. 😲 Think of it as a sensory homunculus... but for smell: 🍇🍎 Fruit odors get the hand — prime neuron real estate. 🦠👾 Toxic microbe odors get the foot — pushed to the corner. Not all smells get an equal vote...
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
1/ Hello Drosophila-philists and braino-maniacs! 👋🪰🧠🧪 The Caron lab has a new preprint, and it is about 🥁🥁🥁 democracy! Neuro-democracy, to be precise. So: drop EVERYTHING and listen up — a 🧶! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
🔥🔥🔥
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Science moves forward when we chase big, weird questions — the ones that make you think: Wait, can that even work? The payoff is not always immediate — or ever! — but curiosity-driven science can bring new ideas, deepen our understanding, and change what we know in the most fundamental way. 🧪🔬
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
We finish this manuscript with more questions than we started with... a good sign! 🤓 What are these capsids transporting? Which cells release them?? Where do they go???👾🧑‍🚀 So, stay tuned: even in the tiny fly brain, these mechanisms might reveal how similar processes operate in our own. 🧠✨
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
This whole project started with one of @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social's wild ideas, so wild I thought it was nuts. 🥜🤪 Arc forming viral capsids that can regulate learning and memory in mice. AND IN FLIES? We tried it. It worked!! 🙃
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
HUGE shoutout to @barefeetsven.bsky.social — the driving force behind this work — who somehow survived having two PIs (@jasonsynaptic.bsky.social and me). Talk about being between a 🪨 and a hard place…!! 💪🧠
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
📢 Fresh off the press! Our article on Arc is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social: www.cell.com/current-biol... 🧶 Full thread on our discoveries here: bsky.app/profile/thec...
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dArc1 controls sugar reward valuation in Drosophila melanogaster
Bervoets et al. show that the retrotransposon-derived gene dArc1 is expressed in serotonergic neurons of the Drosophila brain. They found that loss of dArc leads to sugar reward overvaluation during l...
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Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
This paper with @thecaronlab.bsky.social now ACCEPTED at @currentbiology.bsky.social! Congrats Sven! (He’s on the job market now folks). Stay tuned for the final version. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... dArc1 controls sugar reward valuation in Drosophila melanogaster | bioRxiv
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dArc1 controls sugar reward valuation in Drosophila melanogaster
The Arc genes — which include Drosophila Arc1 and Arc2 ( dArc ) — evolved from Ty3 retrotransposons and encode proteins that form virus-like capsids. These capsids enable a novel form of intercellular...
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Piali Sengupta @senguptalab.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
I've had the privilege & luck of having NSF funding for >25 yrs. #WithoutNSF we would not have discovered new mechanisms of chemosensation, described how gut bacteria influence neuronal function, trained many who are now scientists & educators, & appreciated the joys & rewards of science outreach.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Evidence trumps ignorance — join us as we March for Science! 🧪🥼🔬👣
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
🧪 Stand Up for Science. Science is for everyone. 🫶 Join us as we #marchforscience — for truth, discovery, and a future where research is valued and people matter. Science uplifts everyone, empowers communities, and drives real change. Stand up, Utah! 📍 Utah State Capitol 📅 March 7th 2025 at noon
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Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
This was supposed to be a post about my lab's first funding of the year, a diversity supplement to fund our amazing research technician. The award never arrived. Now it's a post about the value of diversity and trying to persevere in these dark times. devinenilab.org/news/diversi...
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Diversity is core to science — Devineni Lab
This was supposed to be a post about how we received our first grant of the year. It never arrived.
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Ok scientists & those who love science 🧪: here is another exhortation. Call Congress TODAY about the freeze on NIH Council Meetings and Study Sections. Emphasize that this means NO new grants are being funded & labs will soon start to shut down and fire employees. Phone numbers are at: 5calls.org
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5 Calls
Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.
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Sophie Caron @thecaronlab.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Scientists and lovers of 🧪: @sfn.org has a great tool to help you engage with your local representatives and make your voice heard on *questionable* decisions in DC. 🇺🇸✉️ It is quick, impactful (we hope), and customizable — edit the text, make it your own! #floodthemailbox www.sfn.org/Advocacy/Adv...
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Society for Neuroscience @sfn.org · 06/02/2025
Federal restrictions & funding freezes threaten vital research and halts scientific progress that benefits all Americans. Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce. 👇 #NeuroSky
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