Professor Malcolm Burrows University positionProfessor Professor Malcolm Burrows is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students. DepartmentsHome pageResearch ThemesInterestsI work on the properties of neurons and the circuits they form to understand how they control behaviour. 1. Motor control. How do nonspiking local interneurons organise motor neurons to generate limb movements? How do spiking interneurons process the resulting proprioceptive signals during movement and signalling by other sensory neurons. 2. Phenotypic plasticity. Locusts exist in two distinct forms; a solitary phase in which they live independently and a gregarious swarming phase. How does the nervous system control the transition from one phase to another?. What changes occur in the properties of individual neurons and of neurochemicals in the brain? 3. Fast movements. Jumping is one of the fastest and most powerful movements. The actions of circuits of identified neurons, the kinematics of the movements and the mechanics of joints and muscles reveal the mechanisms required to generate these movements. Research Focus
EquipmentBehavioural analysis Computational modelling Confocal microscopy High speed imaging of movements Collaborators
Associated News ItemsPublications2014Burrows M (2014), “Jumping mechanisms in flatid planthoppers (Hemiptera, Flatidae).” J Exp Biol 217(Pt 14):2590-600 Details Burrows M (2014), “Jumping mechanisms in dictyopharid planthoppers (Hemiptera, Dicytyopharidae).” J Exp Biol 217(Pt 3):402-13 Details Burrows M, Dorosenko M (2014), “Rapid swimming and escape movements in the aquatic larvae and pupae of the phantom midge Chaoborus crystallinus.” J Exp Biol 217(Pt 14):2468-79 Details Burrows M, Meinertzhagen IA, Bräunig P (2014), “Slowly contracting muscles power the rapid jumping of planthopper insects (Hemiptera, Issidae).” Cell Tissue Res 355(1):213-22 Details Rogers SM, Cullen DA, Anstey ML, Burrows M, Despland E, Dodgson T, Matheson T, Ott SR, Stettin K, Sword GA, Simpson SJ (2014), “Rapid behavioural gregarization in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria entails synchronous changes in both activity and attraction to conspecifics.” J Insect Physiol 65:9-26 Details 2013Burrows M (2013), “Jumping mechanisms in gum treehopper insects (Hemiptera, Eurymelinae).” J Exp Biol 216(Pt 14):2682-90 Details Burrows M (2013), “Jumping from the surface of water by the long-legged fly Hydrophorus (Diptera, Dolichopodidae).” J Exp Biol 216(Pt 11):1973-81 Details Burrows M (2013), “Jumping mechanisms of treehopper insects (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Membracidae).” J Exp Biol 216(Pt 5):788-99 Details Burrows M, Sutton G (2013), “Interacting gears synchronize propulsive leg movements in a jumping insect.” Science 341(6151):1254-6 Details 2012Bayley TG, Sutton GP, Burrows M (2012), “A buckling region in locust hindlegs contains resilin and absorbs energy when jumping or kicking goes wrong.” J Exp Biol 215(Pt 7):1151-61 Details Burrows M (2012), “Jumping mechanisms in jumping plant lice (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Psyllidae).” J Exp Biol 215(Pt 20):3612-21 Details Burrows M, Sutton GP (2012), “Locusts use a composite of resilin and hard cuticle as an energy store for jumping and kicking.” J Exp Biol 215(Pt 19):3501-12 Details 2011Burrows M (2011), “Jumping mechanisms and performance of snow fleas (Mecoptera, Boreidae).” J Exp Biol 214(Pt 14):2362-74 Details Burrows M, Borycz JA, Shaw SR, Elvin CM, Meinertzhagen IA (2011), “Antibody labelling of resilin in energy stores for jumping in plant sucking insects.” PLoS One 6(12):e28456 Details Burrows M, Rogers SM, Ott SR (2011), “Epigenetic remodelling of brain, body and behaviour during phase change in locusts.” Neural Syst Circuits 1(1):11 Details Sutton GP, Burrows M (2011), “Biomechanics of jumping in the flea.” J Exp Biol 214(Pt 5):836-47 Details 2010Blackburn LM, Ott SR, Matheson T, Burrows M, Rogers SM (2010), “Motor neurone responses during a postural reflex in solitarious and gregarious desert locusts.” J Insect Physiol 56(8):902-10 Details Burrows M (2010), “Energy storage and synchronisation of hind leg movements during jumping in planthopper insects (Hemiptera, Issidae).” J Exp Biol 213(3):469-78 Details Burrows M, Bräunig P (2010), “Actions of motor neurons and leg muscles in jumping by planthopper insects (hemiptera, issidae).” J Comp Neurol 518(8):1349-69 Details Burrows M, Picker MD (2010), “Jumping mechanisms and performance of pygmy mole crickets (Orthoptera, Tridactylidae).” J Exp Biol 213(Pt 14):2386-98 Details Rogers SM, Harston GW, Kilburn-Toppin F, Matheson T, Burrows M, Gabbiani F, Krapp HG (2010), “Spatiotemporal receptive field properties of a looming-sensitive neuron in solitarious and gregarious phases of the desert locust.” J Neurophysiol 103(2):779-92 Details Sutton GP, Burrows M (2010), “The mechanics of azimuth control in jumping by froghopper insects.” J Exp Biol 213(Pt 9):1406-16 Details 2009Burrows M (2009), “How fleas jump.” J Exp Biol 212(18):2881-3 Details Burrows M (2009), “Jumping performance of planthoppers (Hemiptera, Issidae).” J Exp Biol 212(17):2844-55 Details Burrows M (2009), “A single muscle moves a crustacean limb joint rhythmically by acting against a spring containing resilin.” BMC Biol 7:27 Details Burrows M (2009), “Jumping strategies and performance in shore bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Saldidae).” J Exp Biol 212(Pt 1):106-15 Details 2008Burrows M (2008), “Jumping in a wingless stick insect, Timema chumash (Phasmatodea, Timematodea, Timematidae).” J Exp Biol 211(Pt 7):1021-8 Details Burrows M, Shaw SR, Sutton GP (2008), “Resilin and chitinous cuticle form a composite structure for energy storage in jumping by froghopper insects.” BMC Biol 6:41 Details Burrows M, Sutton GP (2008), “The effect of leg length on jumping performance of short- and long-legged leafhopper insects.” J Exp Biol 211(Pt 8):1317-25 Details Sutton GP, Burrows M (2008), “The mechanics of elevation control in locust jumping.” J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 194(6):557-63 Details 2007Burrows M (2007), “Anatomy of the hind legs and actions of their muscles during jumping in leafhopper insects.” J Exp Biol 210(Pt 20):3590-600 Details Burrows M (2007), “Kinematics of jumping in leafhopper insects (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae).” J Exp Biol 210(Pt 20):3579-89 Details Burrows M (2007), “Neural control and coordination of jumping in froghopper insects.” J Neurophysiol 97(1):320-30 Details Burrows M, Hartung V, Hoch H (2007), “Jumping behaviour in a Gondwanan relict insect (Hemiptera: Coleorrhyncha: Peloridiidae).” J Exp Biol 210(Pt 18):3311-8 Details Rogers SM, Krapp HG, Burrows M, Matheson T (2007), “Compensatory plasticity at an identified synapse tunes a visuomotor pathway.” J Neurosci 27(17):4621-33 Details 2006Burrows M (2006), “Morphology and action of the hind leg joints controlling jumping in froghopper insects.” J Exp Biol 209(Pt 23):4622-37 Details Burrows M (2006), “Jumping performance of froghopper insects.” J Exp Biol 209(Pt 23):4607-21 Details 2004Rogers SM, Matheson T, Sasaki K, Kendrick K, Simpson SJ, Burrows M (2004), “Substantial changes in central nervous system neurotransmitters and neuromodulators accompany phase change in the locust.” J Exp Biol 207(Pt 20):3603-17 Details 2003Bevan S, Burrows M (2003), “Localisation of Even-skipped in the mature CNS of the locust, Schistocerca gregaria.” Cell Tissue Res 313(2):237-44 Details Burrows M (2003), “Biomechanics: froghopper insects leap to new heights.” Nature 424(6948):509 Details Burrows M, Morris O (2003), “Jumping and kicking in bush crickets.” J Exp Biol 206(Pt 6):1035-49 Details Niven JE, Burrows M (2003), “Spike width reduction modifies the dynamics of short-term depression at a central synapse in the locust.” J Neurosci 23(20):7461-9 Details Rogers SM, Matheson T, Despland E, Dodgson T, Burrows M, Simpson SJ (2003), “Mechanosensory-induced behavioural gregarization in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria.” J Exp Biol 206(Pt 22):3991-4002 Details Sasaki K, Burrows M (2003), “Proprioceptors monitoring forces in a locust hind leg during kicking form negative feedback loops with flexor tibiae motor neurons.” J Exp Biol 206(Pt 4):759-69 Details |