1
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Lee Y, Kim S, Cho YK, Kong C, Chang JW, Jun SB. Amygdala electrical stimulation for operant conditioning in rat navigation. Biomed Eng Lett 2024; 14:291-306. [PMID: 38374898 PMCID: PMC10874353 DOI: 10.1007/s13534-023-00336-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
There have been several attempts to navigate the locomotion of animals by neuromodulation. The most common method is animal training with electrical brain stimulation for directional cues and rewards; the basic principle is to activate dopamine-mediated neural reward pathways such as the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) when the animal correctly follows the external commands. In this study, the amygdala, which is the brain region responsible for fear modulation, was targeted for punishment training. The brain regions of MFB, amygdala, and barrel cortex were electrically stimulated for reward, punishment, and directional cues, respectively. Electrical stimulation was applied to the amygdala of rats when they failed to follow directional commands. First, two different amygdala regions, i.e., basolateral amygdala (BLA) and central amygdala (CeA), were stimulated and compared in terms of behavior responses, success and correction rates for training, and gene expression for learning and memory. Then, the training was performed in three groups: group R (MFB stimulation for reward), group P (BLA stimulation for punishment), and group RP (both MFB and BLA stimulation for reward and punishment). In group P, after the training, RNA sequencing was conducted to detect gene expression and demonstrate the effect of punishment learning. Group P showed higher success rates than group R, and group RP exhibited the most effective locomotion control among the three groups. Gene expression results imply that BLA stimulation can be more effective as a punishment in the learning process than CeA stimulation. We developed a new method to navigate rat locomotion behaviors by applying amygdala stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youjin Lee
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
- Graduate Program in Smart Factory, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
| | - Soonyoung Kim
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005 USA
| | - Yoon Kyung Cho
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
| | - Chanho Kong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722 Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Woo Chang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722 Republic of Korea
- Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science and Brain Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722 Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Beom Jun
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
- Graduate Program in Smart Factory, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760 Republic of Korea
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2
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Beetz MJ. A perspective on neuroethology: what the past teaches us about the future of neuroethology. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:325-346. [PMID: 38411712 PMCID: PMC10995053 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-024-01695-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
For 100 years, the Journal of Comparative Physiology-A has significantly supported research in the field of neuroethology. The celebration of the journal's centennial is a great time point to appreciate the recent progress in neuroethology and to discuss possible avenues of the field. Animal behavior is the main source of inspiration for neuroethologists. This is illustrated by the huge diversity of investigated behaviors and species. To explain behavior at a mechanistic level, neuroethologists combine neuroscientific approaches with sophisticated behavioral analysis. The rapid technological progress in neuroscience makes neuroethology a highly dynamic and exciting field of research. To summarize the recent scientific progress in neuroethology, I went through all abstracts of the last six International Congresses for Neuroethology (ICNs 2010-2022) and categorized them based on the sensory modalities, experimental model species, and research topics. This highlights the diversity of neuroethology and gives us a perspective on the field's scientific future. At the end, I highlight three research topics that may, among others, influence the future of neuroethology. I hope that sharing my roots may inspire other scientists to follow neuroethological approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
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3
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Brezovec BE, Berger AB, Hao YA, Chen F, Druckmann S, Clandinin TR. Mapping the neural dynamics of locomotion across the Drosophila brain. Curr Biol 2024; 34:710-726.e4. [PMID: 38242122 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Locomotion engages widely distributed networks of neurons. However, our understanding of the spatial architecture and temporal dynamics of the networks that underpin walking remains incomplete. We use volumetric two-photon imaging to map neural activity associated with walking across the entire brain of Drosophila. We define spatially clustered neural signals selectively associated with changes in either forward or angular velocity, demonstrating that neurons with similar behavioral selectivity are clustered. These signals reveal distinct topographic maps in diverse brain regions involved in navigation, memory, sensory processing, and motor control, as well as regions not previously linked to locomotion. We identify temporal trajectories of neural activity that sweep across these maps, including signals that anticipate future movement, representing the sequential engagement of clusters with different behavioral specificities. Finally, we register these maps to a connectome and identify neural networks that we propose underlie the observed signals, setting a foundation for subsequent circuit dissection. Overall, our work suggests a spatiotemporal framework for the emergence and execution of complex walking maneuvers and links this brain-wide neural activity to single neurons and local circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bella E Brezovec
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Andrew B Berger
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Yukun A Hao
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Shaul Druckmann
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Thomas R Clandinin
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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4
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Hamid A, Gattuso H, Caglar AN, Pillai M, Steele T, Gonzalez A, Nagel K, Syed MH. The conserved RNA-binding protein Imp is required for the specification and function of olfactory navigation circuitry in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2024; 34:473-488.e6. [PMID: 38181792 PMCID: PMC10872534 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Complex behaviors depend on the precise developmental specification of neuronal circuits, but the relationship between genetic programs for neural development, circuit structure, and behavioral output is often unclear. The central complex (CX) is a conserved sensory-motor integration center in insects, which governs many higher-order behaviors and largely derives from a small number of type II neural stem cells (NSCs). Here, we show that Imp, a conserved IGF-II mRNA-binding protein expressed in type II NSCs, plays a role in specifying essential components of CX olfactory navigation circuitry. We show the following: (1) that multiple components of olfactory navigation circuitry arise from type II NSCs. (2) Manipulating Imp expression in type II NSCs alters the number and morphology of many of these circuit elements, with the most potent effects on neurons targeting the ventral layers of the fan-shaped body (FB). (3) Imp regulates the specification of Tachykinin-expressing ventral FB input neurons. (4) Imp is required in type II NSCs for establishing proper morphology of the CX neuropil structures. (5) Loss of Imp in type II NSCs abolishes upwind orientation to attractive odor while leaving locomotion and odor-evoked regulation of movement intact. Taken together, our findings establish that a temporally expressed gene can regulate the expression of a complex behavior by developmentally regulating the specification of multiple circuit components and provides a first step toward a developmental dissection of the CX and its roles in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha Hamid
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Hannah Gattuso
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Aysu Nora Caglar
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Midhula Pillai
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Theresa Steele
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Alexa Gonzalez
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Katherine Nagel
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA.
| | - Mubarak Hussain Syed
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
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5
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Gebehart C, Büschges A. The processing of proprioceptive signals in distributed networks: insights from insect motor control. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246182. [PMID: 38180228 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The integration of sensory information is required to maintain body posture and to generate robust yet flexible locomotion through unpredictable environments. To anticipate required adaptations in limb posture and enable compensation of sudden perturbations, an animal's nervous system assembles external (exteroception) and internal (proprioception) cues. Coherent neuronal representations of the proprioceptive context of the body and the appendages arise from the concerted action of multiple sense organs monitoring body kinetics and kinematics. This multimodal proprioceptive information, together with exteroceptive signals and brain-derived descending motor commands, converges onto premotor networks - i.e. the local neuronal circuitry controlling motor output and movements - within the ventral nerve cord (VNC), the insect equivalent of the vertebrate spinal cord. This Review summarizes existing knowledge and recent advances in understanding how local premotor networks in the VNC use convergent information to generate contextually appropriate activity, focusing on the example of posture control. We compare the role and advantages of distributed sensory processing over dedicated neuronal pathways, and the challenges of multimodal integration in distributed networks. We discuss how the gain of distributed networks may be tuned to enable the behavioral repertoire of these systems, and argue that insect premotor networks might compensate for their limited neuronal population size by, in comparison to vertebrate networks, relying more heavily on the specificity of their connections. At a time in which connectomics and physiological recording techniques enable anatomical and functional circuit dissection at an unprecedented resolution, insect motor systems offer unique opportunities to identify the mechanisms underlying multimodal integration for flexible motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinna Gebehart
- Champalimaud Foundation, Champalimaud Research, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ansgar Büschges
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Zoology, Biocenter Cologne, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany
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6
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Konnerth MM, Foster JJ, el Jundi B, Spaethe J, Beetz MJ. Monarch butterflies memorize the spatial location of a food source. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231574. [PMID: 38113939 PMCID: PMC10730289 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial memory helps animals to navigate familiar environments. In insects, spatial memory has extensively been studied in central place foragers such as ants and bees. However, if butterflies memorize a spatial location remains unclear. Here, we conducted behavioural experiments to test whether monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) can remember and retrieve the spatial location of a food source. We placed several visually identical feeders in a flight cage, with only one feeder providing sucrose solution. Across multiple days, individual butterflies predominantly visited the rewarding feeder. Next, we displaced a salient landmark close to the feeders to test which visual cue the butterflies used to relocate the rewarding feeder. While occasional landmark displacements were ignored by the butterflies and did not affect their decisions, systematic displacement of both the landmark and the rewarding feeder demonstrated that the butterflies associated the salient landmark with the feeder's position. Altogether, we show that butterflies consolidate and retrieve spatial memory in the context of foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Marcel Konnerth
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - James J. Foster
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Basil el Jundi
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Johannes Spaethe
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - M. Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
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7
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Jahn S, Althaus V, Heckmann J, Janning M, Seip AK, Takahashi N, Grigoriev C, Kolano J, Homberg U. Neuroarchitecture of the central complex in the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae: Pontine and columnar neuronal cell types. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:1689-1714. [PMID: 37608556 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Insects have evolved remarkable abilities to navigate over short distances and during long-range seasonal migrations. The central complex (CX) is a navigation center in the insect brain that controls spatial orientation and directed locomotion. It is composed of the protocerebral bridge (PB), the upper (CBU) and lower (CBL) division of the central body, and a pair of noduli. While most of its functional organization and involvement in head-direction coding has been obtained from work on flies, bees, and locusts that largely rely on vision for navigation, little contribution has been provided by work on nocturnal species. To close this gap, we have investigated the columnar organization of the CX in the cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. Rhyparobia maderae is a highly agile nocturnal insect that relies largely but not exclusively on antennal information for navigation. A particular feature of the cockroach CX is an organization of the CBU and CBL into interleaved series of eight and nine columns. Single-cell tracer injections combined with imaging and 3D analysis revealed five systems of pontine neurons connecting columns along the vertical and horizontal axis and 18 systems of columnar neurons with topographically organized projection patterns. Among these are six types of neurons with no correspondence in other species. Many neurons send processes into the anterior lip, a brain area highly reduced in bees and unknown in flies. While sharing many features with the CX in other species, the cockroach CX shows some unique attributes that may be related to the ecological niche of this insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Jahn
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Althaus
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jannik Heckmann
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Mona Janning
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ann-Katrin Seip
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Naomi Takahashi
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Clara Grigoriev
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Juliana Kolano
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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8
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Wani AR, Chowdhury B, Luong J, Chaya GM, Patel K, Isaacman-Beck J, Shafer O, Kayser MS, Syed MH. Stem cell-specific ecdysone signaling regulates the development and function of a Drosophila sleep homeostat. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.29.560022. [PMID: 37873323 PMCID: PMC10592846 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.29.560022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Complex behaviors arise from neural circuits that are assembled from diverse cell types. Sleep is a conserved and essential behavior, yet little is known regarding how the nervous system generates neuron types of the sleep-wake circuit. Here, we focus on the specification of Drosophila sleep-promoting neurons-long-field tangential input neurons that project to the dorsal layers of the fan-shaped body neuropil in the central complex (CX). We use lineage analysis and genetic birth dating to identify two bilateral Type II neural stem cells that generate these dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) neurons. We show that adult dFB neurons express Ecdysone-induced protein E93, and loss of Ecdysone signaling or E93 in Type II NSCs results in the misspecification of the adult dFB neurons. Finally, we show that E93 knockdown in Type II NSCs affects adult sleep behavior. Our results provide insight into how extrinsic hormonal signaling acts on NSCs to generate neuronal diversity required for adult sleep behavior. These findings suggest that some adult sleep disorders might derive from defects in stem cell-specific temporal neurodevelopmental programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adil R Wani
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Budhaditya Chowdhury
- The Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Jenny Luong
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Gonzalo Morales Chaya
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Krishna Patel
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Orie Shafer
- The Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Matthew S. Kayser
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Chronobiology Sleep Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mubarak Hussain Syed
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
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9
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Cruz TL, Chiappe ME. Multilevel visuomotor control of locomotion in Drosophila. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 82:102774. [PMID: 37651855 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Vision is critical for the control of locomotion, but the underlying neural mechanisms by which visuomotor circuits contribute to the movement of the body through space are yet not well understood. Locomotion engages multiple control systems, forming distinct interacting "control levels" driven by the activity of distributed and overlapping circuits. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying locomotion control requires the consideration of all control levels and their necessary coordination. Due to their small size and the wide availability of experimental tools, Drosophila has become an important model system to study this coordination. Traditionally, insect locomotion has been divided into studying either the biomechanics and local control of limbs, or navigation and course control. However, recent developments in tracking techniques, and physiological and genetic tools in Drosophila have prompted researchers to examine multilevel control coordination in flight and walking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás L Cruz
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - M Eugenia Chiappe
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal.
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10
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Beetz MJ, Kraus C, El Jundi B. Neural representation of goal direction in the monarch butterfly brain. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5859. [PMID: 37730704 PMCID: PMC10511513 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41526-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural processing of a desired moving direction requires the continuous comparison between the current heading and the goal direction. While the neural basis underlying the current heading is well-studied, the coding of the goal direction remains unclear in insects. Here, we used tetrode recordings in tethered flying monarch butterflies to unravel how a goal direction is represented in the insect brain. While recording, the butterflies maintained robust goal directions relative to a virtual sun. By resetting their goal directions, we found neurons whose spatial tuning was tightly linked to the goal directions. Importantly, their tuning was unaffected when the butterflies changed their heading after compass perturbations, showing that these neurons specifically encode the goal direction. Overall, we here discovered invertebrate goal-direction neurons that share functional similarities to goal-direction cells reported in mammals. Our results give insights into the evolutionarily conserved principles of goal-directed spatial orientation in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Christian Kraus
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Basil El Jundi
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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11
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Wilson RI. Neural Networks for Navigation: From Connections to Computations. Annu Rev Neurosci 2023; 46:403-423. [PMID: 37428603 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-110920-032645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Many animals can navigate toward a goal they cannot see based on an internal representation of that goal in the brain's spatial maps. These maps are organized around networks with stable fixed-point dynamics (attractors), anchored to landmarks, and reciprocally connected to motor control. This review summarizes recent progress in understanding these networks, focusing on studies in arthropods. One factor driving recent progress is the availability of the Drosophila connectome; however, it is increasingly clear that navigation depends on ongoing synaptic plasticity in these networks. Functional synapses appear to be continually reselected from the set of anatomical potential synapses based on the interaction of Hebbian learning rules, sensory feedback, attractor dynamics, and neuromodulation. This can explain how the brain's maps of space are rapidly updated; it may also explain how the brain can initialize goals as stable fixed points for navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel I Wilson
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
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12
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Steele TJ, Lanz AJ, Nagel KI. Olfactory navigation in arthropods. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:467-488. [PMID: 36658447 PMCID: PMC10354148 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01611-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Using odors to find food and mates is one of the most ancient and highly conserved behaviors. Arthropods from flies to moths to crabs use broadly similar strategies to navigate toward odor sources-such as integrating flow information with odor information, comparing odor concentration across sensors, and integrating odor information over time. Because arthropods share many homologous brain structures-antennal lobes for processing olfactory information, mechanosensors for processing flow, mushroom bodies (or hemi-ellipsoid bodies) for associative learning, and central complexes for navigation, it is likely that these closely related behaviors are mediated by conserved neural circuits. However, differences in the types of odors they seek, the physics of odor dispersal, and the physics of locomotion in water, air, and on substrates mean that these circuits must have adapted to generate a wide diversity of odor-seeking behaviors. In this review, we discuss common strategies and specializations observed in olfactory navigation behavior across arthropods, and review our current knowledge about the neural circuits subserving this behavior. We propose that a comparative study of arthropod nervous systems may provide insight into how a set of basic circuit structures has diversified to generate behavior adapted to different environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa J Steele
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Aaron J Lanz
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Katherine I Nagel
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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13
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Hamid A, Gattuso H, Caglar AN, Pillai M, Steele T, Gonzalez A, Nagel K, Syed MH. The RNA-binding protein, Imp specifies olfactory navigation circuitry and behavior in Drosophila. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.26.542522. [PMID: 37398350 PMCID: PMC10312496 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.26.542522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Complex behaviors depend on the precise developmental specification of neuronal circuits, but the relationship between genetic prograssms for neural development, circuit structure, and behavioral output is often unclear. The central complex (CX) is a conserved sensory-motor integration center in insects that governs many higher order behaviors and largely derives from a small number of Type II neural stem cells. Here, we show that Imp, a conserved IGF-II mRNA-binding protein expressed in Type II neural stem cells, specifies components of CX olfactory navigation circuitry. We show: (1) that multiple components of olfactory navigation circuitry arise from Type II neural stem cells and manipulating Imp expression in Type II neural stem cells alters the number and morphology of many of these circuit elements, with the most potent effects on neurons targeting the ventral layers of the fan-shaped body. (2) Imp regulates the specification of Tachykinin expressing ventral fan-shaped body input neurons. (3) Imp in Type II neural stem cells alters the morphology of the CX neuropil structures. (4) Loss of Imp in Type II neural stem cells abolishes upwind orientation to attractive odor while leaving locomotion and odor-evoked regulation of movement intact. Taken together, our work establishes that a single temporally expressed gene can regulate the expression of a complex behavior through the developmental specification of multiple circuit components and provides a first step towards a developmental dissection of the CX and its roles in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha Hamid
- Department of Biology, 219 Yale Blvd NE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Hannah Gattuso
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Aysu Nora Caglar
- Current address: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, 915 Camino De Salud NE, Albuquerque, NM 87132, USA
| | - Midhula Pillai
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Theresa Steele
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Alexa Gonzalez
- Department of Biology, 219 Yale Blvd NE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Katherine Nagel
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Mubarak Hussain Syed
- Department of Biology, 219 Yale Blvd NE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
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14
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Beetz MJ, El Jundi B. The influence of stimulus history on directional coding in the monarch butterfly brain. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01633-x. [PMID: 37095358 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01633-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
The central complex is a brain region in the insect brain that houses a neural network specialized to encode directional information. Directional coding has traditionally been investigated with compass cues that revolve in full rotations and at constant angular velocities around the insect's head. However, these stimulus conditions do not fully simulate an insect's sensory perception of compass cues during navigation. In nature, an insect flight is characterized by abrupt changes in moving direction as well as constant changes in velocity. The influence of such varying cue dynamics on compass coding remains unclear. We performed long-term tetrode recordings from the brain of monarch butterflies to study how central complex neurons respond to different stimulus velocities and directions. As these butterflies derive directional information from the sun during migration, we measured the neural response to a virtual sun. The virtual sun was either presented as a spot that appeared at random angular positions or was rotated around the butterfly at different angular velocities and directions. By specifically manipulating the stimulus velocity and trajectory, we dissociated the influence of angular velocity and direction on compass coding. While the angular velocity substantially affected the tuning directedness, the stimulus trajectory influenced the shape of the angular tuning curve. Taken together, our results suggest that the central complex flexibly adjusts its directional coding to the current stimulus dynamics ensuring a precise compass even under highly demanding conditions such as during rapid flight maneuvers.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Basil El Jundi
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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15
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Mangan M, Floreano D, Yasui K, Trimmer BA, Gravish N, Hauert S, Webb B, Manoonpong P, Szczecinski N. A virtuous cycle between invertebrate and robotics research: perspective on a decade of Living Machines research. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2023; 18:035005. [PMID: 36881919 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/acc223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Many invertebrates are ideal model systems on which to base robot design principles due to their success in solving seemingly complex tasks across domains while possessing smaller nervous systems than vertebrates. Three areas are particularly relevant for robot designers: Research on flying and crawling invertebrates has inspired new materials and geometries from which robot bodies (their morphologies) can be constructed, enabling a new generation of softer, smaller, and lighter robots. Research on walking insects has informed the design of new systems for controlling robot bodies (their motion control) and adapting their motion to their environment without costly computational methods. And research combining wet and computational neuroscience with robotic validation methods has revealed the structure and function of core circuits in the insect brain responsible for the navigation and swarming capabilities (their mental faculties) displayed by foraging insects. The last decade has seen significant progress in the application of principles extracted from invertebrates, as well as the application of biomimetic robots to model and better understand how animals function. This Perspectives paper on the past 10 years of the Living Machines conference outlines some of the most exciting recent advances in each of these fields before outlining lessons gleaned and the outlook for the next decade of invertebrate robotic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Mangan
- The University of Sheffield, Mappin St, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Dario Floreano
- Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, Station 9, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Kotaro Yasui
- Tohoku University, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, 6-3 Aramaki aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Barry A Trimmer
- Tufts University, Biology, 200 Boston Av, Boston, MA 02111, United States of America
| | - Nick Gravish
- University of California San Diego, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Building EBU II, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States of America
| | - Sabine Hauert
- University of Bristol, Engineering Mathematics, Bristol BS8 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Webb
- University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics, 10 Crichton St, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
| | - Poramate Manoonpong
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People's Republic of China
- Bio-Inspired Robotics and Neural Engineering Laboratory, School of Information Science and Technology, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, Wangchan Valley, Rayong 21210, Thailand
| | - Nicholas Szczecinski
- West Virginia University, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Morgantown, WV 26506-6201, United States of America
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16
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Kandimalla P, Omoto JJ, Hong EJ, Hartenstein V. Lineages to circuits: the developmental and evolutionary architecture of information channels into the central complex. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01616-y. [PMID: 36932234 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01616-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
The representation and integration of internal and external cues is crucial for any organism to execute appropriate behaviors. In insects, a highly conserved region of the brain, the central complex (CX), functions in the representation of spatial information and behavioral states, as well as the transformation of this information into desired navigational commands. How does this relatively invariant structure enable the incorporation of information from the diversity of anatomical, behavioral, and ecological niches occupied by insects? Here, we examine the input channels to the CX in the context of their development and evolution. Insect brains develop from ~ 100 neuroblasts per hemisphere that divide systematically to form "lineages" of sister neurons, that project to their target neuropils along anatomically characteristic tracts. Overlaying this developmental tract information onto the recently generated Drosophila "hemibrain" connectome and integrating this information with the anatomical and physiological recording of neurons in other species, we observe neuropil and lineage-specific innervation, connectivity, and activity profiles in CX input channels. We posit that the proliferative potential of neuroblasts and the lineage-based architecture of information channels enable the modification of neural networks across existing, novel, and deprecated modalities in a species-specific manner, thus forming the substrate for the evolution and diversification of insect navigational circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratyush Kandimalla
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. .,Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Jaison Jiro Omoto
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.,Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Hong
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Volker Hartenstein
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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17
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Buehlmann C, Dell-Cronin S, Diyalagoda Pathirannahelage A, Goulard R, Webb B, Niven JE, Graham P. Impact of central complex lesions on innate and learnt visual navigation in ants. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01613-1. [PMID: 36790487 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01613-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Wood ants are excellent navigators, using a combination of innate and learnt navigational strategies to travel between their nest and feeding sites. Visual navigation in ants has been studied extensively, however, we have little direct evidence for the underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we perform lateralized mechanical lesions in the central complex (CX) of wood ants, a midline structure known to allow an insect to keep track of the direction of sensory cues relative to its own orientation and to control movement. We lesioned two groups of ants and observed their behaviour in an arena with a large visual landmark present. The first group of ants were naïve and when intact such ants show a clear innate attraction to the conspicuous landmark. The second group of ants were trained to aim to a food location to the side of the landmark. The general heading of naïve ants towards a visual cue was not altered by the lesions, but the heading of ants trained to a landmark adjacent food position was affected. Thus, CX lesions had a specific impact on learnt visual guidance. We also observed that lateralised lesions altered the fine details of turning with lesioned ants spending less time turning to the side ipsilateral of the lesion. The results confirm the role of the CX in turn control and highlight its important role in the implementation of learnt behaviours that rely on information from other brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Roman Goulard
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK.,Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Jeremy E Niven
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
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18
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The sky compass network in the brain of the desert locust. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022:10.1007/s00359-022-01601-x. [PMID: 36550368 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01601-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Many arthropods and vertebrates use celestial signals such as the position of the sun during the day or stars at night as compass cues for spatial orientation. The neural network underlying sky compass coding in the brain has been studied in great detail in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. These insects perform long-range migrations in Northern Africa and the Middle East following seasonal changes in rainfall. Highly specialized photoreceptors in a dorsal rim area of their compound eyes are sensitive to the polarization of the sky, generated by scattered sunlight. These signals are combined with direct information on the sun position in the optic lobe and anterior optic tubercle and converge from both eyes in a midline crossing brain structure, the central complex. Here, head direction coding is achieved by a compass-like arrangement of columns signaling solar azimuth through a 360° range of space by combining direct brightness cues from the sun with polarization cues matching the polarization pattern of the sky. Other directional cues derived from wind direction and internal self-rotation input are likely integrated. Signals are transmitted as coherent steering commands to descending neurons for directional control of locomotion and flight.
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19
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Steinbeck F, Nowotny T, Philippides A, Graham P. Production of adaptive movement patterns via an insect inspired spiking neural network central pattern generator. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:948973. [DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.948973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigation in ever-changing environments requires effective motor behaviors. Many insects have developed adaptive movement patterns which increase their success in achieving navigational goals. A conserved brain area in the insect brain, the Lateral Accessory Lobe, is involved in generating small scale search movements which increase the efficacy of sensory sampling. When the reliability of an essential navigational stimulus is low, searching movements are initiated whereas if the stimulus reliability is high, a targeted steering response is elicited. Thus, the network mediates an adaptive switching between motor patterns. We developed Spiking Neural Network models to explore how an insect inspired architecture could generate adaptive movements in relation to changing sensory inputs. The models are able to generate a variety of adaptive movement patterns, the majority of which are of the zig-zagging kind, as seen in a variety of insects. Furthermore, these networks are robust to noise. Because a large spread of network parameters lead to the correct movement dynamics, we conclude that the investigated network architecture is inherently well-suited to generating adaptive movement patterns.
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20
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Yap TF, Liu Z, Rajappan A, Shimokusu TJ, Preston DJ. Necrobotics: Biotic Materials as Ready-to-Use Actuators. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2201174. [PMID: 35875913 PMCID: PMC9561765 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202201174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Designs perfected through evolution have informed bioinspired animal-like robots that mimic the locomotion of cheetahs and the compliance of jellyfish; biohybrid robots go a step further by incorporating living materials directly into engineered systems. Bioinspiration and biohybridization have led to new, exciting research, but humans have relied on biotic materials-non-living materials derived from living organisms-since their early ancestors wore animal hides as clothing and used bones for tools. In this work, an inanimate spider is repurposed as a ready-to-use actuator requiring only a single facile fabrication step, initiating the area of "necrobotics" in which biotic materials are used as robotic components. The unique walking mechanism of spiders-relying on hydraulic pressure rather than antagonistic muscle pairs to extend their legs-results in a necrobotic gripper that naturally resides in its closed state and can be opened by applying pressure. The necrobotic gripper is capable of grasping objects with irregular geometries and up to 130% of its own mass. Furthermore, the gripper can serve as a handheld device and innately camouflages in outdoor environments. Necrobotics can be further extended to incorporate biotic materials derived from other creatures with similar hydraulic mechanisms for locomotion and articulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Te Faye Yap
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringRice UniversityHoustonTX77005USA
| | - Zhen Liu
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringRice UniversityHoustonTX77005USA
| | - Anoop Rajappan
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringRice UniversityHoustonTX77005USA
| | | | - Daniel J. Preston
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringRice UniversityHoustonTX77005USA
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21
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Althaus V, Jahn S, Massah A, Stengl M, Homberg U. 3D-atlas of the brain of the cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:3126-3156. [PMID: 36036660 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae is a nocturnal insect and a prominent model organism for the study of circadian rhythms. Its master circadian clock, controlling circadian locomotor activity and sleep-wake cycles, is located in the accessory medulla of the optic lobe. For a better understanding of brain regions controlled by the circadian clock and brain organization of this insect in general, we created a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of all neuropils of the cerebral ganglia based on anti-synapsin and anti-γ-aminobutyric acid immunolabeling of whole mount brains. Forty-nine major neuropils were identified and three-dimensionally reconstructed. Single-cell dye fills complement the data and provide evidence for distinct subdivisions of certain brain areas. Most neuropils defined in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster could be distinguished in the cockroach as well. However, some neuropils identified in the fruit fly do not exist as distinct entities in the cockroach while others are lacking in the fruit fly. In addition to neuropils, major fiber systems, tracts, and commissures were reconstructed and served as important landmarks separating brain areas. Being a nocturnal insect, R. maderae is an important new species to the growing collection of 3D insect brain atlases and only the second hemimetabolous insect, for which a detailed 3D brain atlas is available. This atlas will be highly valuable for an evolutionary comparison of insect brain organization and will greatly facilitate addressing brain areas that are supervised by the circadian clock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Althaus
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Jahn
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Azar Massah
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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22
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Rana A, Emanuel S, Adams ME, Libersat F. Suppression of host nocifensive behavior by parasitoid wasp venom. Front Physiol 2022; 13:907041. [PMID: 36035493 PMCID: PMC9411936 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.907041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The parasitoid wasp Ampulex compressa envenomates the brain of its host the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), thereby making it a behaviorally compliant food supply for its offspring. The target of venom injection is a locomotory command center in the brain called the central complex. In this study, we investigate why stung cockroaches do not respond to injuries incurred during the manipulation process by the wasp. In particular, we examine how envenomation compromises nociceptive signaling pathways in the host. Noxious stimuli applied to the cuticle of stung cockroaches fail to evoke escape responses, even though nociceptive interneurons projecting to the brain respond normally. Hence, while nociceptive signals are carried forward to the brain, they fail to trigger robust nocifensive behavior. Electrophysiological recordings from the central complex of stung animals demonstrate decreases in peak firing rate, total firing, and duration of noxious-evoked activity. The single parameter best correlated with altered noxious-evoked behavioral responses of stung cockroaches is reduced duration of the evoked response in the central complex. Our findings demonstrate how the reproductive strategy of a parasitoid wasp is served by venom-mediated elimination of aversive, nocifensive behavior in its host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Rana
- Department of Life Sciences and Zlotowski Center for Neurosciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Stav Emanuel
- Department of Life Sciences and Zlotowski Center for Neurosciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Michael E. Adams
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Frederic Libersat
- Department of Life Sciences and Zlotowski Center for Neurosciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- *Correspondence: Frederic Libersat,
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23
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Matheson AMM, Lanz AJ, Medina AM, Licata AM, Currier TA, Syed MH, Nagel KI. A neural circuit for wind-guided olfactory navigation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4613. [PMID: 35941114 PMCID: PMC9360402 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32247-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
To navigate towards a food source, animals frequently combine odor cues about source identity with wind direction cues about source location. Where and how these two cues are integrated to support navigation is unclear. Here we describe a pathway to the Drosophila fan-shaped body that encodes attractive odor and promotes upwind navigation. We show that neurons throughout this pathway encode odor, but not wind direction. Using connectomics, we identify fan-shaped body local neurons called h∆C that receive input from this odor pathway and a previously described wind pathway. We show that h∆C neurons exhibit odor-gated, wind direction-tuned activity, that sparse activation of h∆C neurons promotes navigation in a reproducible direction, and that h∆C activity is required for persistent upwind orientation during odor. Based on connectome data, we develop a computational model showing how h∆C activity can promote navigation towards a goal such as an upwind odor source. Our results suggest that odor and wind cues are processed by separate pathways and integrated within the fan-shaped body to support goal-directed navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M M Matheson
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 600 Sherman Fairchild Center, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Aaron J Lanz
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Ashley M Medina
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Al M Licata
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Timothy A Currier
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Center for Neural Science, NYU, New York, NY, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, 299W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Mubarak H Syed
- Department of Biology, 219 Yale Blvd NE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Katherine I Nagel
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Medical Center, 435 E 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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24
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Wosnitza A, Martin JP, Pollack AJ, Svenson GJ, Ritzmann RE. The Role of Central Complex Neurons in Prey Detection and Tracking in the Freely Moving Praying Mantis (Tenodera sinensis). Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:893004. [PMID: 35769200 PMCID: PMC9234402 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.893004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex tasks like hunting moving prey in an unpredictable environment require high levels of motor and sensory integration. An animal needs to detect and track suitable prey objects, measure their distance and orientation relative to its own position, and finally produce the correct motor output to approach and capture the prey. In the insect brain, the central complex (CX) is one target area where integration is likely to take place. In this study, we performed extracellular multi-unit recordings on the CX of freely hunting praying mantises (Tenodera sinensis). Initially, we recorded the neural activity of freely moving mantises as they hunted live prey. The recordings showed activity in cells that either reflected the mantis's own movements or the actions of a prey individual, which the mantises focused on. In the latter case, the activity increased as the prey moved and decreased when it stopped. Interestingly, cells ignored the movement of the other prey than the one to which the mantis attended. To obtain quantitative data, we generated simulated prey targets presented on an LCD screen positioned below the clear floor of the arena. The simulated target oscillated back and forth at various angles and distances. We identified populations of cells whose activity patterns were strongly linked to the appearance, movement, and relative position of the virtual prey. We refer to these as sensory responses. We also found cells whose activity preceded orientation movement toward the prey. We call these motor responses. Some cells showed both sensory and motor properties. Stimulation through tetrodes in some of the preparations could also generate similar movements. These results suggest the crucial importance of the CX to prey-capture behavior in predatory insects like the praying mantis and, hence, further emphasize its role in behaviorally and ecologically relevant contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Wosnitza
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Joshua P. Martin
- Department of Biology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, United States
- *Correspondence: Joshua P. Martin
| | - Alan J. Pollack
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Gavin J. Svenson
- Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Roy E. Ritzmann
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
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25
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Walking strides direct rapid and flexible recruitment of visual circuits for course control in Drosophila. Neuron 2022; 110:2124-2138.e8. [PMID: 35525243 PMCID: PMC9275417 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Flexible mapping between activity in sensory systems and movement parameters is a hallmark of motor control. This flexibility depends on the continuous comparison of short-term postural dynamics and the longer-term goals of an animal, thereby necessitating neural mechanisms that can operate across multiple timescales. To understand how such body-brain interactions emerge across timescales to control movement, we performed whole-cell patch recordings from visual neurons involved in course control in Drosophila. We show that the activity of leg mechanosensory cells, propagating via specific ascending neurons, is critical for stride-by-stride steering adjustments driven by the visual circuit, and, at longer timescales, it provides information about the moving body’s state to flexibly recruit the visual circuit for course control. Thus, our findings demonstrate the presence of an elegant stride-based mechanism operating at multiple timescales for context-dependent course control. We propose that this mechanism functions as a general basis for the adaptive control of locomotion. HS cells receive stride-coupled signals via ascending neurons The stride-coupled signals reflect an internal motor context Motor context modulates HS cells at multiple timescales HS cells drive rapid steering depending on motor context
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26
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Hammel E, Mantziaris C, Schmitz J, Büschges A, Gruhn M. Thorax-Segment- and Leg-Segment-Specific Motor Control for Adaptive Behavior. Front Physiol 2022; 13:883858. [PMID: 35600292 PMCID: PMC9114818 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.883858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We have just started to understand the mechanisms underlying flexibility of motor programs among segmental neural networks that control each individual leg during walking in vertebrates and invertebrates. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying curve walking in the stick insect Carausius morosus during optomotor-induced turning. We wanted to know, whether the previously reported body-side specific changes in a two-front leg turning animal are also observed in the other thoracic leg segments. The motor activity of the three major leg joints showed three types of responses: 1) a context-dependent increase or decrease in motor neuron (MN) activity of the antagonistic MN pools of the thorax-coxa (ThC)-joint during inside and outside turns; 2) an activation of 1 MN pool with simultaneous cessation of the other, independent of the turning direction in the coxa-trochanteral (CTr)-joint; 3) a modification in the activity of both FTi-joint MN pools which depended on the turning direction in one, but not in the other thorax segment. By pharmacological activation of the meso- or metathoracic central pattern generating networks (CPG), we show that turning-related modifications in motor output involve changes to local CPG activity. The rhythmic activity in the MN pools of the ThC and CTr-joints was modified similarly to what was observed under control conditions in saline. Our results indicate that changes in meso- and metathoracic motor activity during curve walking are leg-joint- and thorax-segment-specific, can depend on the turning direction, and are mediated through changes in local CPG activity.
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Bosse JW, Svenson GJ, Bowers TA, Bourges-Sevenier BM, Ritzmann RE. Context dependent effects on attack and defense behaviors in the praying mantis Tenodera sinensis. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275277. [PMID: 35502775 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most behavior needs to strike a balance between the competing needs to find food and protect an animal from predators. The factors that influence this balance and the resulting behavior are not well understood in many animals. Here we examined these influences in the praying mantis Tenodera sinensis (Saussure) by presenting perching individuals with alternating sinusoidally moving prey-like stimuli and rapidly expanding looming stimuli then scoring their behavior on a defensive - aggressive scale. In this way, we tested the hypothesis that such behaviors are highly context dependent. Specifically, we found that defensive responses, which are normally very consistent, are decreased in magnitude if the animal has just performed an aggressive response to the previous sinusoid. A thrash behavior not normally seen with looming alone was often seen following aggression. In thrashing the animal tries to push the looming stimulus away. It almost exclusively followed aggressive responses to the sinusoid stimulus. Moreover, aggression levels were found to shift from low to high and back to low as adult animals aged and, in general, female mantises were more aggressive than males. Finally, the specific nature of the mid-life spike in aggressive behaviors differed according to whether the animals were lab-raised or caught in the wild. Lab raised animals showed roughly equal amounts of increased attention to the stimulus and very aggressive strike behaviors whereas wild caught animals tended to either ignore the stimulus or react very aggressively with strikes. Therefore, our hypothesis regarding context dependent effects was supported with all 4 factors influencing the behaviors that were studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob W Bosse
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Gavin J Svenson
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.,Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Troy A Bowers
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.,Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Roy E Ritzmann
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Patel RN, Kempenaers J, Heinze S. Vector navigation in walking bumblebees. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2871-2883.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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29
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Sato N, Shidara H, Kamo S, Ogawa H. Roles of neural communication between the brain and thoracic ganglia in the selection and regulation of the cricket escape behavior. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 139:104381. [PMID: 35305989 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
To survive a predator's attack, prey animals must exhibit escape responses that are appropriately regulated in terms of their moving speed, distance, and direction. Insect locomotion is considered to be controlled by an interaction between the brain, which is involved in behavioral decision-making, and the thoracic ganglia (TG), which are primary motor centers. However, it remains unknown which descending and ascending signals between these neural centers are involved in the regulation of the escape behavior. We addressed the distinct roles of the brain and TG in the wind-elicited escape behavior of crickets by assessing the effects of partial ablation of the intersegmental communications on escape responses. We unilaterally cut the ventral nerve cord (VNC) at different locations, between the brain and TG, or between the TG and terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG), a primary sensory center of the cercal system. The partial ablation of ascending signals to the brain greatly reduced the jumping response rather than running, indicating that sensory information processing in the brain is essential for the choice of escape responses. The ablation of descending signals from the brain to the TG impaired locomotor performance and directional control of the escape responses, suggesting that locomotion in the escape behavior largely depends on the descending signals from the brain. Finally, the extracellular recording from the cervical VNC indicated a difference in the descending activities preceding the escape responses between running and jumping. Our results demonstrated that the brain sends the descending signals encoding the behavioral choice and locomotor regulation to the TG, while the TG seem to have other specific roles, such as in the preparation of escape movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nodoka Sato
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Hisashi Shidara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Kamo
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Hiroto Ogawa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
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30
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Flexible navigational computations in the Drosophila central complex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102514. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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31
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Multimodal Information Processing and Associative Learning in the Insect Brain. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13040332. [PMID: 35447774 PMCID: PMC9033018 DOI: 10.3390/insects13040332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Insect behaviors are a great indicator of evolution and provide useful information about the complexity of organisms. The realistic sensory scene of an environment is complex and replete with multisensory inputs, making the study of sensory integration that leads to behavior highly relevant. We summarize the recent findings on multimodal sensory integration and the behaviors that originate from them in our review. Abstract The study of sensory systems in insects has a long-spanning history of almost an entire century. Olfaction, vision, and gustation are thoroughly researched in several robust insect models and new discoveries are made every day on the more elusive thermo- and mechano-sensory systems. Few specialized senses such as hygro- and magneto-reception are also identified in some insects. In light of recent advancements in the scientific investigation of insect behavior, it is not only important to study sensory modalities individually, but also as a combination of multimodal inputs. This is of particular significance, as a combinatorial approach to study sensory behaviors mimics the real-time environment of an insect with a wide spectrum of information available to it. As a fascinating field that is recently gaining new insight, multimodal integration in insects serves as a fundamental basis to understand complex insect behaviors including, but not limited to navigation, foraging, learning, and memory. In this review, we have summarized various studies that investigated sensory integration across modalities, with emphasis on three insect models (honeybees, ants and flies), their behaviors, and the corresponding neuronal underpinnings.
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32
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Nordio S, Kaiser M, Adams ME, Libersat F. Parasitoid wasp venom manipulates host innate behavior via subtype-specific dopamine receptor activation. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274808. [PMID: 35320357 PMCID: PMC8996814 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The subjugation strategy employed by the jewel wasp is unique in that it manipulates the behavior of its host, the American cockroach, rather than inducing outright paralysis. Upon envenomation directly into the central complex (CX), a command center in the brain for motor behavior, the stung cockroach initially engages in intense grooming behavior, then falls into a lethargic sleep-like state referred to as hypokinesia. Behavioral changes evoked by the sting are due at least in part to the presence of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the venom. In insects, dopamine receptors are classified as two families, the D1-like and the D2-like receptors. However, specific roles played by dopamine receptor subtypes in venom-induced behavioral manipulation by the jewel wasp remain largely unknown. In the present study, we used a pharmacological approach to investigate roles of D1-like and D2-like receptors in behaviors exhibited by stung cockroaches, focusing on grooming. Specifically, we assessed behavioral outcomes of focal CX injections of dopamine receptor agonists and antagonists. Both specific and non-specific compounds were used. Our results strongly implicate D1-like dopamine receptors in venom-induced grooming. Regarding induction of hypokinesia, our findings demonstrate that dopamine signaling is necessary for induction of long-lasting hypokinesia caused by brain envenomation. Highlighted Article: Subtype-specific dopamine receptors are involved in the manipulation of host behavior by the parasitoid jewel wasp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Nordio
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Maayan Kaiser
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Michael E Adams
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.,Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Frederic Libersat
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.,Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
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33
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Grob R, Holland Cunz O, Grübel K, Pfeiffer K, Rössler W, Fleischmann PN. Rotation of skylight polarization during learning walks is necessary to trigger neuronal plasticity in Cataglyphis ants. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212499. [PMID: 35078368 PMCID: PMC8790360 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animals use celestial cues for impressive navigational performances in challenging habitats. Since the position of the sun and associated skylight cues change throughout the day and season, it is crucial to correct for these changes. Cataglyphis desert ants possess a time-compensated skylight compass allowing them to navigate back to their nest using the shortest way possible. The ants have to learn the sun's daily course (solar ephemeris) during initial learning walks (LW) before foraging. This learning phase is associated with substantial structural changes in visual neuronal circuits of the ant's brain. Here, we test whether the rotation of skylight polarization during LWs is the necessary cue to induce learning-dependent rewiring in synaptic circuits in high-order integration centres of the ant brain. Our results show that structural neuronal changes in the central complex and mushroom bodies are triggered only when LWs were performed under a rotating skylight polarization pattern. By contrast, when naive ants did not perform LWs, but were exposed to skylight cues, plasticity was restricted to light spectrum-dependent changes in synaptic complexes of the lateral complex. The results identify sky-compass cues triggering learning-dependent versus -independent neuronal plasticity during the behavioural transition from interior workers to outdoor foragers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Grob
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Holland Cunz
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kornelia Grübel
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Keram Pfeiffer
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Pauline N. Fleischmann
- Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocentre, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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34
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Ritzmann RE, Fox JL. Insect neuroethology: Flight constructs a compass for monarch migration. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R72-R74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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35
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Beetz MJ, Kraus C, Franzke M, Dreyer D, Strube-Bloss MF, Rössler W, Warrant EJ, Merlin C, El Jundi B. Flight-induced compass representation in the monarch butterfly heading network. Curr Biol 2021; 32:338-349.e5. [PMID: 34822766 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
For navigation, animals use a robust internal compass. Compass navigation is crucial for long-distance migrating animals like monarch butterflies, which use the sun to navigate over 4,000 km to their overwintering sites every fall. Sun-compass neurons of the central complex have only been recorded in immobile butterflies, and experimental evidence for encoding the animal's heading in these neurons is still missing. Although the activity of central-complex neurons exhibits a locomotor-dependent modulation in many insects, the function of such modulations remains unexplored. Here, we developed tetrode recordings from tethered flying monarch butterflies to reveal how flight modulates heading representation. We found that, during flight, heading-direction neurons change their tuning, transforming the central-complex network to function as a global compass. This compass is characterized by the dominance of processing steering feedback and allows for robust heading representation even under unreliable visual scenarios, an ideal strategy for maintaining a migratory heading over enormous distances.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland 1, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Christian Kraus
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland 1, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Myriam Franzke
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland 1, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - David Dreyer
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Martin F Strube-Bloss
- Department of Biological Cybernetics, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland 1, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Eric J Warrant
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Christine Merlin
- Department of Biology and Center for Biological Clocks Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Basil El Jundi
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland 1, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
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36
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Hulse BK, Haberkern H, Franconville R, Turner-Evans DB, Takemura SY, Wolff T, Noorman M, Dreher M, Dan C, Parekh R, Hermundstad AM, Rubin GM, Jayaraman V. A connectome of the Drosophila central complex reveals network motifs suitable for flexible navigation and context-dependent action selection. eLife 2021; 10:66039. [PMID: 34696823 PMCID: PMC9477501 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexible behaviors over long timescales are thought to engage recurrent neural networks in deep brain regions, which are experimentally challenging to study. In insects, recurrent circuit dynamics in a brain region called the central complex (CX) enable directed locomotion, sleep, and context- and experience-dependent spatial navigation. We describe the first complete electron-microscopy-based connectome of the Drosophila CX, including all its neurons and circuits at synaptic resolution. We identified new CX neuron types, novel sensory and motor pathways, and network motifs that likely enable the CX to extract the fly's head-direction, maintain it with attractor dynamics, and combine it with other sensorimotor information to perform vector-based navigational computations. We also identified numerous pathways that may facilitate the selection of CX-driven behavioral patterns by context and internal state. The CX connectome provides a comprehensive blueprint necessary for a detailed understanding of network dynamics underlying sleep, flexible navigation, and state-dependent action selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad K Hulse
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Hannah Haberkern
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Romain Franconville
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | | | | | - Tanya Wolff
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Marcella Noorman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Marisa Dreher
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Chuntao Dan
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Ruchi Parekh
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | | | - Gerald M Rubin
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Vivek Jayaraman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
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37
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Sayre ME, Templin R, Chavez J, Kempenaers J, Heinze S. A projectome of the bumblebee central complex. eLife 2021; 10:e68911. [PMID: 34523418 PMCID: PMC8504972 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects have evolved diverse and remarkable strategies for navigating in various ecologies all over the world. Regardless of species, insects share the presence of a group of morphologically conserved neuropils known collectively as the central complex (CX). The CX is a navigational center, involved in sensory integration and coordinated motor activity. Despite the fact that our understanding of navigational behavior comes predominantly from ants and bees, most of what we know about the underlying neural circuitry of such behavior comes from work in fruit flies. Here, we aim to close this gap, by providing the first comprehensive map of all major columnar neurons and their projection patterns in the CX of a bee. We find numerous components of the circuit that appear to be highly conserved between the fly and the bee, but also highlight several key differences which are likely to have important functional ramifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Ethan Sayre
- Lund University, Lund Vision Group, Department of BiologyLundSweden
- Macquarie University, Department of Biological SciencesSydneyAustralia
| | - Rachel Templin
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of QueenslandBrisbaneSweden
| | - Johanna Chavez
- Lund University, Lund Vision Group, Department of BiologyLundSweden
| | | | - Stanley Heinze
- Lund University, Lund Vision Group, Department of BiologyLundSweden
- Lund University, NanoLundLundSweden
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38
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Hensgen R, Göthe J, Jahn S, Hümmert S, Schneider KL, Takahashi N, Pegel U, Gotthardt S, Homberg U. Organization and neural connections of the lateral complex in the brain of the desert locust. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:3533-3560. [PMID: 34216020 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The lateral complexes (LXs) are bilaterally paired neuropils in the insect brain that mediate communication between the central complex (CX), a brain center controlling spatial orientation, various sensory processing areas, and thoracic motor centers that execute locomotion. The LX of the desert locust consists of the lateral accessory lobe (LAL), and the medial and lateral bulb. We have analyzed the anatomical organization and the neuronal connections of the LX in the locust, to provide a basis for future functional studies. Reanalyzing the morphology of neurons connecting the CX and the LX revealed likely feedback loops in the sky compass network of the CX via connections in the gall of the LAL and a newly identified neuropil termed ovoid body. In addition, we characterized 16 different types of neuron that connect the LAL with other areas in the brain. Eight types of neuron provide information flow between both LALs, five types are LAL input neurons, and three types are LAL output neurons. Among these are neurons providing input from sensory brain areas such as the lobula and antennal neuropils. Brain regions most often targeted by LAL neurons are the posterior slope, the wedge, and the crepine. Two descending neurons with dendrites in the LAL were identified. Our data support and complement existing knowledge about how the LAL is embedded in the neuronal network involved in processing of sensory information and generation of appropriate behavioral output for goal-directed locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronja Hensgen
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jonas Göthe
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Jahn
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Sophie Hümmert
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Kim Lucia Schneider
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Naomi Takahashi
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Uta Pegel
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Sascha Gotthardt
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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39
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Timm J, Scherner M, Matschke J, Kern M, Homberg U. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining in the central complex of dicondylian insects. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:3131-3154. [PMID: 33825188 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine acts as a neurohormone and neurotransmitter in the insect nervous system and controls a variety of physiological processes. Dopaminergic neurons also innervate the central complex (CX), a multisensory center of the insect brain involved in sky compass navigation, goal-directed locomotion and sleep control. To infer a possible influence of evolutionary history and lifestyle on the neurochemical architecture of the CX, we have studied the distribution of neurons immunoreactive to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine biosynthesis. Analysis of representatives from 12 insect orders ranging from firebrats to flies revealed high conservation of immunolabeled neurons. One type of TH-immunoreactive neuron was found in all species studied. The neurons have somata in the pars intercerebralis, arborizations in the lateral accessory lobes, and axonal ramifications in the central body and noduli. In all pterygote species, a second type of tangential neuron of the upper division of the central body was TH-immunoreactive. The neurons have cell bodies near the calyces and arborizations in the superior protocerebrum. Both types of neuron showed species-specific variations in cell number and in the innervated areas outside and inside the CX. Additional neurons were found in only two taxa: one type of columnar neuron showed TH immunostaining in the water strider Gerris lacustris, but not in other Heteroptera, and a tritocerebral neuron innervating the protocerebral bridge was immunolabeled in Diptera. The data show largely taxon-specific variations of a common ground pattern of putatively dopaminergic neurons that may be commonly involved in state-dependent modulation of CX function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Timm
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Mara Scherner
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jannik Matschke
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Martina Kern
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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40
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The Evolutionary History of Brains for Numbers. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:608-621. [PMID: 33926813 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Humans and other animals share a number sense', an intuitive understanding of countable quantities. Having evolved independent from one another for hundreds of millions of years, the brains of these diverse species, including monkeys, crows, zebrafishes, bees, and squids, differ radically. However, in all vertebrates investigated, the pallium of the telencephalon has been implicated in number processing. This suggests that properties of the telencephalon make it ideally suited to host number representations that evolved by convergent evolution as a result of common selection pressures. In addition, promising candidate regions in the brains of invertebrates, such as insects, spiders, and cephalopods, can be identified, opening the possibility of even deeper commonalities for number sense.
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Abstract
Our current understanding of manipulation is based on primate hands, resulting in a detailed but narrow perspective of ways to handle objects. Although most other animals lack hands, they are still capable of flexible manipulation of diverse objects, including food and nest materials, and depend on dexterity in object handling to survive and reproduce. Birds, for instance, use their bills and feet to forage and build nests, while insects carry food and construct nests with their mandibles and legs. Bird bills and insect mandibles are much simpler than a primate hand, resembling simple robotic grippers. A better understanding of manipulation in these and other species would provide a broader comparative perspective on the origins of dexterity. Here we contrast data from primates, birds and insects, describing how they sense and grasp objects, and the neural architectures that control manipulation. Finally, we outline techniques for collecting comparable manipulation data from animals with diverse morphologies and describe the practical applications of studying manipulation in a wide range of species, including providing inspiration for novel designs of robotic manipulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoko Sugasawa
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Harold Mitchell Building, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Susan D Healy
- Centre for Biological Diversity, Harold Mitchell Building, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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Pisokas I. Reverse Engineering and Robotics as Tools for Analyzing Neural Circuits. Front Neurorobot 2021; 14:578803. [PMID: 33574747 PMCID: PMC7870716 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2020.578803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding neuronal circuits that have evolved over millions of years to control adaptive behavior may provide us with alternative solutions to problems in robotics. Recently developed genetic tools allow us to study the connectivity and function of the insect nervous system at the single neuron level. However, neuronal circuits are complex, so the question remains, can we unravel the complex neuronal connectivity to understand the principles of the computations it embodies? Here, I illustrate the plausibility of incorporating reverse engineering to analyze part of the central complex, an insect brain structure essential for navigation behaviors such as maintaining a specific compass heading and path integration. I demonstrate that the combination of reverse engineering with simulations allows the study of both the structure and function of the underlying circuit, an approach that augments our understanding of both the computation performed by the neuronal circuit and the role of its components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Pisokas
- Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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43
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Currier TA, Matheson AMM, Nagel KI. Encoding and control of orientation to airflow by a set of Drosophila fan-shaped body neurons. eLife 2020; 9:e61510. [PMID: 33377868 PMCID: PMC7793622 DOI: 10.7554/elife.61510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The insect central complex (CX) is thought to underlie goal-oriented navigation but its functional organization is not fully understood. We recorded from genetically-identified CX cell types in Drosophila and presented directional visual, olfactory, and airflow cues known to elicit orienting behavior. We found that a group of neurons targeting the ventral fan-shaped body (ventral P-FNs) are robustly tuned for airflow direction. Ventral P-FNs did not generate a 'map' of airflow direction. Instead, cells in each hemisphere were tuned to 45° ipsilateral, forming a pair of orthogonal bases. Imaging experiments suggest that ventral P-FNs inherit their airflow tuning from neurons that provide input from the lateral accessory lobe (LAL) to the noduli (NO). Silencing ventral P-FNs prevented flies from selecting appropriate corrective turns following changes in airflow direction. Our results identify a group of CX neurons that robustly encode airflow direction and are required for proper orientation to this stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A Currier
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical CenterNew YorkUnited States
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Andrew MM Matheson
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical CenterNew YorkUnited States
| | - Katherine I Nagel
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical CenterNew YorkUnited States
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
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44
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Homberg U, Hensgen R, Rieber E, Seyfarth J, Kern M, Dippel S, Dircksen H, Spänig L, Kina YP. Orcokinin in the central complex of the locust Schistocerca gregaria: Identification of immunostained neurons and colocalization with other neuroactive substances. J Comp Neurol 2020; 529:1876-1894. [PMID: 33128250 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The central complex is a group of highly interconnected neuropils in the insect brain. It is involved in the control of spatial orientation, based on external compass cues and various internal needs. The functional and neurochemical organization of the central complex has been studied in detail in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. In addition to classical neurotransmitters, immunocytochemistry has provided evidence for a major contribution of neuropeptides to neural signaling within the central complex. To complement these data, we have identified all orcokinin-immunoreactive neurons in the locust central complex and associated brain areas. About 50 bilateral pairs of neurons innervating all substructures of the central complex exhibit orcokinin immunoreactivity. Among these were about 20 columnar neurons, 33 bilateral pairs of tangential neurons of the central body, and seven pairs of tangential neurons of the protocerebral bridge. In silico transcript analysis suggests the presence of eight different orcokinin-A type peptides in the desert locust. Double label experiments showed that all orcokinin-immunostained tangential neurons of the lateral accessory lobe cluster were also immunoreactive for GABA and the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase. Two types of tangential neurons of the upper division of the central body were, furthermore, also labeled with an antiserum against Dip-allatostatin I. No colocalization was found with serotonin immunostaining. The data provide additional insights into the neurochemical organization of the locust central complex and suggest that orcokinin-peptides of the orcokinin-A gene act as neuroactive substances at all stages of signal processing in this brain area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ronja Hensgen
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Evelyn Rieber
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany.,Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jutta Seyfarth
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Martina Kern
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Dippel
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | | | - Lisa Spänig
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Yelda Pakize Kina
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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45
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Goldsmith CA, Szczecinski NS, Quinn RD. Neurodynamic modeling of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2020; 15:065003. [PMID: 32924978 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ab9e52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This manuscript describes neuromechanical modeling of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in the form of a hexapod robot, Drosophibot, and an accompanying dynamic simulation. Drosophibot is a testbed for real-time dynamical neural controllers modeled after the anatomy and function of the insect nervous system. As such, Drosophibot has been designed to capture features of the animal's biomechanics in order to better test the neural controllers. These features include: dynamically scaling the robot to match the fruit fly by designing its joint elasticity and movement speed; a biomimetic actuator control scheme that converts neural activity into motion in the same way as observed in insects; biomimetic sensing, including proprioception from all leg joints and strain sensing from all leg segments; and passively compliant tarsi that mimic the animal's passive compliance to the walking substrate. We incorporated these features into a dynamical simulation of Drosophibot, and demonstrate that its actuators and sensors perform in an animal-like way. We used this simulation to test a neural walking controller based on anatomical and behavioral data from insects. Finally, we describe Drosophibot's hardware and show that the animal-like features of the simulation transfer to the physical robot.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Goldsmith
- Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States of America
| | - N S Szczecinski
- Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States of America
| | - R D Quinn
- Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States of America
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46
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Bidaye SS, Laturney M, Chang AK, Liu Y, Bockemühl T, Büschges A, Scott K. Two Brain Pathways Initiate Distinct Forward Walking Programs in Drosophila. Neuron 2020; 108:469-485.e8. [PMID: 32822613 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
An animal at rest or engaged in stationary behaviors can instantaneously initiate goal-directed walking. How descending brain inputs trigger rapid transitions from a non-walking state to an appropriate walking state is unclear. Here, we identify two neuronal types, P9 and BPN, in the Drosophila brain that, upon activation, initiate and maintain two distinct coordinated walking patterns. P9 drives forward walking with ipsilateral turning, receives inputs from central courtship-promoting neurons and visual projection neurons, and is necessary for a male to pursue a female during courtship. In contrast, BPN drives straight, forward walking and is not required during courtship. BPN is instead recruited during and required for fast, straight, forward walking bouts. Thus, this study reveals separate brain pathways for object-directed walking and fast, straight, forward walking, providing insight into how the brain initiates context-appropriate walking programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salil S Bidaye
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Meghan Laturney
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Amy K Chang
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Yuejiang Liu
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Till Bockemühl
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Ansgar Büschges
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Habenstein J, Amini E, Grübel K, el Jundi B, Rössler W. The brain of
Cataglyphis
ants: Neuronal organization and visual projections. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:3479-3506. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.24934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jens Habenstein
- Biocenter, Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II) University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Emad Amini
- Biocenter, Neurobiology and Genetics University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Kornelia Grübel
- Biocenter, Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II) University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Basil el Jundi
- Biocenter, Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II) University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Biocenter, Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II) University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
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48
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Todorović D, Ilijin L, Mrdaković M, Vlahović M, Grčić A, Petković B, Perić-Mataruga V. The impact of chronic exposure to a magnetic field on energy metabolism and locomotion of Blaptica dubia. Int J Radiat Biol 2020; 96:1076-1083. [PMID: 32412321 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2020.1770360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Purpose: This study deals with a comparative analysis of the effects of chronic exposure to a static magnetic field (SMF) and an extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF MF) in Blaptica dubia nymphs. The outcome of such treatment on insect and fat body mass, glycogen and total lipid content in the fat body and locomotion, as an energy demanding process, were examined.Materials and methods: One-month-old nymphs of B. dubia were exposed to an SMF (110 mT) or ELF MF (50 Hz, 10 mT) for 5 months. Their locomotion was monitored in the 'open-field' test for 10 min and expressed as travel distance, time in movement and average speed while in motion. After that, fat body mass and content of its main components (glycogen and total lipids) were determined. Nymph body mass was also estimated after 1 and 5 months of MF treatment.Results: Chronic exposure to the SMF and ELF MF decreased nymph body mass and glycogen content in the fat body but increased all examined parameters of locomotion. In addition, chronic SMF treatment elevated total lipid content in the fat body, while chronic ELF MF treatment reduced fat body mass and total lipid content.Conclusions: These findings indicate that B. dubia nymphs are sensitive to the applied MFs and possess different strategies for fuel usage in response to the SMF and ELF MF in order to satisfy increased energy demands and to overcome stressful conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajana Todorović
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Larisa Ilijin
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Marija Mrdaković
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Milena Vlahović
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Anja Grčić
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Branka Petković
- Department of Neurophysiology, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vesna Perić-Mataruga
- Department of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
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49
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DeAngelis BD, Zavatone-Veth JA, Gonzalez-Suarez AD, Clark DA. Spatiotemporally precise optogenetic activation of sensory neurons in freely walking Drosophila. eLife 2020; 9:e54183. [PMID: 32319425 PMCID: PMC7198233 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous work has characterized how walking Drosophila coordinate the movements of individual limbs (DeAngelis et al., 2019). To understand the circuit basis of this coordination, one must characterize how sensory feedback from each limb affects walking behavior. However, it has remained difficult to manipulate neural activity in individual limbs of freely moving animals. Here, we demonstrate a simple method for optogenetic stimulation with body side-, body segment-, and limb-specificity that does not require real-time tracking. Instead, we activate at random, precise locations in time and space and use post hoc analysis to determine behavioral responses to specific activations. Using this method, we have characterized limb coordination and walking behavior in response to transient activation of mechanosensitive bristle neurons and sweet-sensing chemoreceptor neurons. Our findings reveal that activating these neurons has opposite effects on turning, and that activations in different limbs and body regions produce distinct behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D DeAngelis
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale UniversityNew HavenUnited States
| | | | | | - Damon A Clark
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale UniversityNew HavenUnited States
- Department of Physics, Yale UniversityNew HavenUnited States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale UniversityNew HavenUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale UniversityNew HavenUnited States
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50
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Schilling M, Cruse H. Decentralized control of insect walking: A simple neural network explains a wide range of behavioral and neurophysiological results. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1007804. [PMID: 32339162 PMCID: PMC7205325 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Controlling the six legs of an insect walking in an unpredictable environment is a challenging task, as many degrees of freedom have to be coordinated. Solutions proposed to deal with this task are usually based on the highly influential concept that (sensory-modulated) central pattern generators (CPG) are required to control the rhythmic movements of walking legs. Here, we investigate a different view. To this end, we introduce a sensor based controller operating on artificial neurons, being applied to a (simulated) insectoid robot required to exploit the "loop through the world" allowing for simplification of neural computation. We show that such a decentralized solution leads to adaptive behavior when facing uncertain environments which we demonstrate for a broad range of behaviors never dealt with in a single system by earlier approaches. This includes the ability to produce footfall patterns such as velocity dependent "tripod", "tetrapod", "pentapod" as well as various stable intermediate patterns as observed in stick insects and in Drosophila. These patterns are found to be stable against disturbances and when starting from various leg configurations. Our neuronal architecture easily allows for starting or interrupting a walk, all being difficult for CPG controlled solutions. Furthermore, negotiation of curves and walking on a treadmill with various treatments of individual legs is possible as well as backward walking and performing short steps. This approach can as well account for the neurophysiological results usually interpreted to support the idea that CPGs form the basis of walking, although our approach is not relying on explicit CPG-like structures. Application of CPGs may however be required for very fast walking. Our neuronal structure allows to pinpoint specific neurons known from various insect studies. Interestingly, specific common properties observed in both insects and crustaceans suggest a significance of our controller beyond the realm of insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Schilling
- Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interactive Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Holk Cruse
- Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interactive Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Biological Cybernetics, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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