Chris J. Dallmann

Chris J. Dallmann, PhD

Neuroscientist studying
motor control in Drosophila

About

I’m a neuroscientist. I study how neural circuits control movement—a major challenge in neuroscience with implications for treating movement disorders, designing neural prostheses, and robotics.

I tackle this challenge in the fruit fly, Drosophila. The unparalleled genetic tools and the compact nervous system of this model organism enable us to develop a detailed, mechanistic understanding of movement control. I aim to uncover fundamental control principles that are shared across animals, including humans.

I’m currently a postdoc with Jan Ache at the University of Würzburg. Previously, I was a postdoc with John Tuthill at the University of Washington in Seattle.

chris.dallmann at uni-wuerzburg.de

Research

My research focuses on the organization and function of motor circuits in the Drosophila nerve cord (the functional equivalent of the spinal cord). Specifically, I study how these circuits integrate descending movement instructions from the brain with sensory feedback from the limbs. To address these fundamental questions, I combine connectomics with motion capture, optogenetics, and calcium imaging of neural activity in behaving animals.

My research has received funding from the European Union (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) and the German Research Foundation.

As a graduate student, I explored related questions about sensory feedback in stick insects. The large size of these animals enabled me to conduct detailed biomechanical analyses of movement currently not possible in Drosophila (check out The New York Times ScienceTake).

Publications

2025

Dallmann CJ, Luo Y, Agrawal S, Mamiya A, Chou GM, Cook A, Sustar A, Brunton BW, Tuthill JC (2025). Selective presynaptic inhibition of leg proprioception in behaving Drosophila. Nature. Article, Preprint

Pratt BG, Dallmann CJ, Chou GM, Siwanowicz I, Walling-Bell S, Cook A, Sustar A, Azevedo A, Tuthill JC (2025). Proprioceptive limit detectors mediate sensorimotor control of the Drosophila leg. bioRxiv. Preprint

Lee SY, Dallmann CJ, Cook A, Tuthill JC, Agrawal S (2025). Divergent neural circuits for proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensing of the Drosophila leg. Nature Communications. Article, Preprint

2024

Lesser E, Azevedo A, et al. [including Dallmann CJ] (2024). Synaptic architecture of leg and wing premotor control networks in Drosophila. Nature. Article, Preprint

Azevedo A, Lesser E, Mark B, Phelps J, et al. [including Dallmann CJ] (2024). Connectomic reconstruction of a female Drosophila ventral nerve cord. Nature. Article, Preprint

Zill SN, Dallmann CJ, Zyhowski WP, Chaudhry H, Gebehart C, Szczecinski NS (2024). Mechanosensory encoding of forces in walking uphill and downhill: force feedback can stabilize leg movements in stick insects. Journal of Neurophysiology. Article

2023

Dallmann CJ, Dickerson BH, Simpson JH, Wyart C, Jayaram K (2023). Mechanosensory control of locomotion in animals and robots: moving forward. Integrative and Comparative Biology. Article

2021

Szczecinski NS, Dallmann CJ, Quinn RD, Zill SN (2021). A computational model of insect campaniform sensilla predicts encoding of forces during walking. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. Article

Dallmann CJ*, Karashchuk P*, Brunton B, Tuthill JC (2021). A leg to stand on: computational models of proprioception. Current Opinion in Physiology. *Co-first authors. Article

Zill SN, Dallmann CJ, Szcsecinski NS, Büschges A, Schmitz J (2021). Evaluation of force feedback in walking using joint torques as naturalistic stimuli. Journal of Neurophysiology. Article

2020

Szczecinski NS, Zill SN, Dallmann CJ, Quinn RD (2020). Modeling the dynamic sensory discharges of insect campaniform sensilla. Biomimetic and Biohybrid System. Conference Article

2019

Dürr V, et al. [including Dallmann CJ] (2019). Integrative biomimetics of autonomous hexapedal locomotion. Frontiers in Neurorobotics. Article

Dallmann CJ, Dürr V, Schmitz J (2019). Motor control of an insect leg during level and incline walking. Journal of Experimental Biology. Article

Featured in Inside JEB “Stubborn stick insects stick to regular walk when scaling slopes“

Neveln ID, Dallmann CJ, Sponberg S (2019). Using mutual information to analyze adaptations to loading, speed, and terrain. AMAM conference. Extended Abstract

2018

Dürr V, Theunissen LM, Dallmann CJ, Schmitz J (2018). Motor flexibility in insects: adaptive coordination of limbs in locomotion and near-range exploration. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Article

Zill SN, Dallmann CJ, Büschges A, Chaudhry S, Schmitz J (2018). Force dynamics and synergist muscle activation in stick insects: the effects of using joint torques as mechanical stimuli. Journal of Neurophysiology. Article

Dallmann CJ (2018). A biomechanics approach to sensorimotor control of insect walking. Doctoral thesis. Bielefeld University, Germany. Thesis

2017

Dallmann CJ, Hoinville T, Dürr V, Schmitz J (2017). A load-based mechanism for inter-leg coordination in insects. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Article

2016

Dallmann CJ, Dürr V, Schmitz J (2016). Joint torques in a freely walking insect reveal distinct functions of leg joints in propulsion and posture control. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Article

Featured in The New York Times ScienceTake “Stick insect helps scientists study how animals move”

2015

Dallmann CJ, Ernst MO, Moscatelli A (2015). The role of vibration in tactile speed perception. Journal of Neurophysiology. Article

2014

Mongeau J-M, Demir A, Dallmann CJ, Jayaram K, Cowan NJ, Full RJ (2014). Mechanical processing via passive dynamic properties of the cockroach antenna can facilitate control during rapid running. Journal of Experimental Biology. Article