1
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Verbe A, Lea KM, Fox JL, Dickerson BH. Flies tune the activity of their multifunctional gyroscope. Curr Biol 2024; 34:3644-3653.e3. [PMID: 39053466 PMCID: PMC11338719 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.066] [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: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Members of the order Diptera, the true flies, are among the most maneuverable flying animals. These aerial capabilities are partially attributed to flies' possession of halteres, tiny club-shaped structures that evolved from the hindwings and play a crucial role in flight control. Halteres are renowned for acting as biological gyroscopes that rapidly detect rotational perturbations and help flies maintain a stable flight posture. Additionally, halteres provide rhythmic input to the wing steering system that can be indirectly modulated by the visual system. The multifunctional capacity of the haltere is thought to depend on arrays of embedded mechanosensors called campaniform sensilla that are arranged in distinct groups on the haltere's dorsal and ventral surfaces. Although longstanding hypotheses suggest that each array provides different information relevant to the flight control circuitry, we know little about how the haltere campaniforms are functionally organized. Here, we use in vivo calcium imaging during tethered flight to obtain population-level recordings of the haltere sensory afferents in specific fields of sensilla. We find that haltere feedback from both dorsal fields is continuously active, modulated under closed-loop flight conditions, and recruited during saccades to help flies actively maneuver. We also find that the haltere's multifaceted role may arise from the steering muscles of the haltere itself, regulating haltere stroke amplitude to modulate campaniform activity. Taken together, our results underscore the crucial role of efferent control in regulating sensor activity and provide insight into how the sensory and motor systems of flies coevolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Verbe
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Kristianna M Lea
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Jessica L Fox
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Bradley H Dickerson
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
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2
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Stupski SD, van Breugel F. Wind gates olfaction-driven search states in free flight. Curr Biol 2024:S0960-9822(24)00912-6. [PMID: 39067453 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.009] [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: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
For organisms tracking a chemical cue to its source, the motion of their surrounding fluid provides crucial information for success. Swimming and flying animals engaged in olfaction-driven search often start by turning into the direction of an oncoming wind or water current. However, it is unclear how organisms adjust their strategies when directional cues are absent or unreliable, as is often the case in nature. Here, we use the genetic toolkit of Drosophila melanogaster to develop an optogenetic paradigm to deliver temporally precise "virtual" olfactory experiences for free-flying animals in either laminar wind or still air. We first confirm that in laminar wind flies turn upwind. Furthermore, we show that they achieve this using a rapid (∼100 ms) turn, implying that flies estimate the ambient wind direction prior to "surging" upwind. In still air, flies adopt a remarkably stereotyped "sink and circle" search state characterized by ∼60° turns at 3-4 Hz, biased in a consistent direction. Together, our results show that Drosophila melanogaster assesses the presence and direction of ambient wind prior to deploying a distinct search strategy. In both laminar wind and still air, immediately after odor onset, flies decelerate and often perform a rapid turn. Both maneuvers are consistent with predictions from recent control theoretic analyses for how insects may estimate properties of wind while in flight. We suggest that flies may use their deceleration and "anemometric" turn as active sensing maneuvers to rapidly gauge properties of their wind environment before initiating a proximal or upwind search routine.
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Affiliation(s)
- S David Stupski
- Integrative Neuroscience Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA; Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Floris van Breugel
- Integrative Neuroscience Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA; Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557, USA.
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3
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Stupski SD, van Breugel F. Wind Gates Olfaction Driven Search States in Free Flight. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.30.569086. [PMID: 38076971 PMCID: PMC10705368 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.30.569086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
For organisms tracking a chemical cue to its source, the motion of their surrounding fluid provides crucial information for success. Swimming and flying animals engaged in olfaction driven search often start by turning into the direction of an oncoming wind or water current. However, it is unclear how organisms adjust their strategies when directional cues are absent or unreliable, as is often the case in nature. Here, we use the genetic toolkit of Drosophila melanogaster to develop an optogenetic paradigm to deliver temporally precise "virtual" olfactory experiences for free-flying animals in either laminar wind or still air. We first confirm that in laminar wind flies turn upwind. Furthermore, we show that they achieve this using a rapid (∼100 ms) turn, implying that flies estimate the ambient wind direction prior to "surging" upwind. In still air, flies adopt remarkably stereotyped "sink and circle" search state characterized by ∼60°turns at 3-4 Hz, biased in a consistent direction. Together, our results show that Drosophila melanogaster assess the presence and direction of ambient wind prior to deploying a distinct search strategy. In both laminar wind and still air, immediately after odor onset, flies decelerate and often perform a rapid turn. Both maneuvers are consistent with predictions from recent control theoretic analyses for how insects may estimate properties of wind while in flight. We suggest that flies may use their deceleration and "anemometric" turn as active sensing maneuvers to rapidly gauge properties of their wind environment before initiating a proximal or upwind search routine.
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4
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Rauscher MJ, Fox JL. Asynchronous haltere input drives specific wing and head movements in Drosophila. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240311. [PMID: 38864337 PMCID: PMC11338569 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0311] [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: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Halteres are multifunctional mechanosensory organs unique to the true flies (Diptera). A set of reduced hindwings, the halteres beat at the same frequency as the lift-generating forewings and sense inertial forces via mechanosensory campaniform sensilla. Though haltere ablation makes stable flight impossible, the specific role of wing-synchronous input has not been established. Using small iron filings attached to the halteres of tethered flies and an alternating electromagnetic field, we experimentally decoupled the wings and halteres of flying Drosophila and observed the resulting changes in wingbeat amplitude and head orientation. We find that asynchronous haltere input results in fast amplitude changes in the wing (hitches), but does not appreciably move the head. In multi-modal experiments, we find that wing and gaze optomotor responses are disrupted differently by asynchronous input. These effects of wing-asynchronous haltere input suggest that specific sensory information is necessary for maintaining wing amplitude stability and adaptive gaze control.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica L. Fox
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
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5
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Cheong HSJ, Boone KN, Bennett MM, Salman F, Ralston JD, Hatch K, Allen RF, Phelps AM, Cook AP, Phelps JS, Erginkaya M, Lee WCA, Card GM, Daly KC, Dacks AM. Organization of an ascending circuit that conveys flight motor state in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1059-1075.e5. [PMID: 38402616 PMCID: PMC10939832 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.071] [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: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Natural behaviors are a coordinated symphony of motor acts that drive reafferent (self-induced) sensory activation. Individual sensors cannot disambiguate exafferent (externally induced) from reafferent sources. Nevertheless, animals readily differentiate between these sources of sensory signals to carry out adaptive behaviors through corollary discharge circuits (CDCs), which provide predictive motor signals from motor pathways to sensory processing and other motor pathways. Yet, how CDCs comprehensively integrate into the nervous system remains unexplored. Here, we use connectomics, neuroanatomical, physiological, and behavioral approaches to resolve the network architecture of two pairs of ascending histaminergic neurons (AHNs) in Drosophila, which function as a predictive CDC in other insects. Both AHN pairs receive input primarily from a partially overlapping population of descending neurons, especially from DNg02, which controls wing motor output. Using Ca2+ imaging and behavioral recordings, we show that AHN activation is correlated to flight behavior and precedes wing motion. Optogenetic activation of DNg02 is sufficient to activate AHNs, indicating that AHNs are activated by descending commands in advance of behavior and not as a consequence of sensory input. Downstream, each AHN pair targets predominantly non-overlapping networks, including those that process visual, auditory, and mechanosensory information, as well as networks controlling wing, haltere, and leg sensorimotor control. These results support the conclusion that the AHNs provide a predictive motor signal about wing motor state to mostly non-overlapping sensory and motor networks. Future work will determine how AHN signaling is driven by other descending neurons and interpreted by AHN downstream targets to maintain adaptive sensorimotor performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han S J Cheong
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA; Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA; Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Kaitlyn N Boone
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA; Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Marryn M Bennett
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Farzaan Salman
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Jacob D Ralston
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Kaleb Hatch
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Raven F Allen
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Alec M Phelps
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Andrew P Cook
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Jasper S Phelps
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mert Erginkaya
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Wei-Chung A Lee
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gwyneth M Card
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA; Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Kevin C Daly
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA; Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Andrew M Dacks
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA; Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.
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6
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Wagner H, Egelhaaf M, Carr C. Model organisms and systems in neuroethology: one hundred years of history and a look into the future. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:227-242. [PMID: 38227005 PMCID: PMC10995084 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01685-z] [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: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
The Journal of Comparative Physiology lived up to its name in the last 100 years by including more than 1500 different taxa in almost 10,000 publications. Seventeen phyla of the animal kingdom were represented. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is the taxon with most publications, followed by locust (Locusta migratoria), crayfishes (Cambarus spp.), and fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster). The representation of species in this journal in the past, thus, differs much from the 13 model systems as named by the National Institutes of Health (USA). We mention major accomplishments of research on species with specific adaptations, specialist animals, for example, the quantitative description of the processes underlying the axon potential in squid (Loligo forbesii) and the isolation of the first receptor channel in the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) and electric ray (Torpedo spp.). Future neuroethological work should make the recent genetic and technological developments available for specialist animals. There are many research questions left that may be answered with high yield in specialists and some questions that can only be answered in specialists. Moreover, the adaptations of animals that occupy specific ecological niches often lend themselves to biomimetic applications. We go into some depth in explaining our thoughts in the research of motion vision in insects, sound localization in barn owls, and electroreception in weakly electric fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hermann Wagner
- Institute of Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Catherine Carr
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, USA
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7
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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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8
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Ros IG, Omoto JJ, Dickinson MH. Descending control and regulation of spontaneous flight turns in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2024; 34:531-540.e5. [PMID: 38228148 PMCID: PMC10872223 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
The clumped distribution of resources in the world has influenced the pattern of foraging behavior since the origins of locomotion, selecting for a common search motif in which straight movements through resource-poor regions alternate with zig-zag exploration in resource-rich domains. For example, during local search, flying flies spontaneously execute rapid flight turns, called body saccades, but suppress these maneuvers during long-distance dispersal or when surging upstream toward an attractive odor. Here, we describe the key cellular components of a neural network in flies that generate spontaneous turns as well as a specialized pair of neurons that inhibits the network and suppresses turning. Using 2-photon imaging, optogenetic activation, and genetic ablation, we show that only four descending neurons appear sufficient to generate the descending commands to execute flight saccades. The network is organized into two functional units-one for right turns and one for left-with each unit consisting of an excitatory (DNae014) and an inhibitory (DNb01) neuron that project to the flight motor neuropil within the ventral nerve cord. Using resources from recently published connectomes of the fly, we identified a pair of large, distinct interneurons (VES041) that form inhibitory connections to all four saccade command neurons and created specific genetic driver lines for this cell. As predicted by its connectivity, activation of VES041 strongly suppresses saccades, suggesting that it promotes straight flight to regulate the transition between local search and long-distance dispersal. These results thus identify the key elements of a network that may play a crucial role in foraging ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo G Ros
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Jaison J Omoto
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Michael H Dickinson
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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9
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Schoepe T, Janotte E, Milde MB, Bertrand OJN, Egelhaaf M, Chicca E. Finding the gap: neuromorphic motion-vision in dense environments. Nat Commun 2024; 15:817. [PMID: 38280859 PMCID: PMC10821932 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45063-y] [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: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals have evolved mechanisms to travel safely and efficiently within different habitats. On a journey in dense terrains animals avoid collisions and cross narrow passages while controlling an overall course. Multiple hypotheses target how animals solve challenges faced during such travel. Here we show that a single mechanism enables safe and efficient travel. We developed a robot inspired by insects. It has remarkable capabilities to travel in dense terrain, avoiding collisions, crossing gaps and selecting safe passages. These capabilities are accomplished by a neuromorphic network steering the robot toward regions of low apparent motion. Our system leverages knowledge about vision processing and obstacle avoidance in insects. Our results demonstrate how insects might safely travel through diverse habitats. We anticipate our system to be a working hypothesis to study insects' travels in dense terrains. Furthermore, it illustrates that we can design novel hardware systems by understanding the underlying mechanisms driving behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorben Schoepe
- Peter Grünberg Institut 15, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Aachen, Germany.
- Faculty of Technology and Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
- Bio-Inspired Circuits and Systems (BICS) Lab. Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (Zernike Inst Adv Mat), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
- CogniGron (Groningen Cognitive Systems and Materials Center), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
| | - Ella Janotte
- Event Driven Perception for Robotics, Italian Institute of Technology, iCub facility, Genoa, Italy
| | - Moritz B Milde
- International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | | | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Elisabetta Chicca
- Faculty of Technology and Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Bio-Inspired Circuits and Systems (BICS) Lab. Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials (Zernike Inst Adv Mat), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
- CogniGron (Groningen Cognitive Systems and Materials Center), University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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10
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Cellini B, Ferrero M, Mongeau JM. Drosophila flying in augmented reality reveals the vision-based control autonomy of the optomotor response. Curr Biol 2024; 34:68-78.e4. [PMID: 38113890 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.045] [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: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
For walking, swimming, and flying animals, the optomotor response is essential to stabilize gaze. How flexible is the optomotor response? Classic work in Drosophila has argued that flies adapt flight control under augmented visual feedback conditions during goal-directed bar fixation. However, whether the lower-level, reflexive optomotor response can similarly adapt to augmented visual feedback (partially autonomous) or not (autonomous) over long timescales is poorly understood. To address this question, we developed an augmented reality paradigm to study the vision-based control autonomy of the yaw optomotor response of flying fruit flies (Drosophila). Flies were placed in a flight simulator, which permitted free body rotation about the yaw axis. By feeding back body movements in real time to a visual display, we augmented and inverted visual feedback. Thus, this experimental paradigm caused a constant visual error between expected and actual visual feedback to study potential adaptive visuomotor control. By combining experiments with control theory, we demonstrate that the optomotor response is autonomous during augmented reality flight bouts of up to 30 min, which exceeds the reported learning epoch during bar fixation. Agreement between predictions from linear systems theory and experimental data supports the notion that the optomotor response is approximately linear and time invariant within our experimental assay. Even under positive visual feedback, which revealed the stability limit of flies in augmented reality, the optomotor response was autonomous. Our results support a hierarchical motor control architecture in flies with fast and autonomous reflexes at the bottom and more flexible behavior at higher levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Cellini
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
| | - Marioalberto Ferrero
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Jean-Michel Mongeau
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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11
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Davis BA, Mongeau JM. The influence of saccades on yaw gaze stabilization in fly flight. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011746. [PMID: 38127819 PMCID: PMC10769041 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In a way analogous to human vision, the fruit fly D. melanogaster and many other flying insects generate smooth and saccadic movements to stabilize and shift their gaze in flight, respectively. It has been hypothesized that this combination of continuous and discrete movements benefits both flight stability and performance, particularly at high frequencies or speeds. Here we develop a hybrid control system model to explore the effects of saccades on the yaw stabilization reflex of D. melanogaster. Inspired from experimental data, the model includes a first order plant, a Proportional-Integral (PI) continuous controller, and a saccadic reset system that fires based on the integrated error of the continuous controller. We explore the gain, delay and switching threshold parameter space to quantify the optimum regions for yaw stability and performance. We show that the addition of saccades to a continuous controller provides benefits to both stability and performance across a range of frequencies. Our model suggests that Drosophila operates near its optimal switching threshold for its experimental gain set. We also show that based on experimental data, D. melanogaster operates in a region that trades off performance and stability. This trade-off increases flight robustness to compensate for internal perturbations such as wing damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brock A. Davis
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Jean-Michel Mongeau
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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12
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Ali MA, Lischka K, Preuss SJ, Trivedi CA, Bollmann JH. A synaptic corollary discharge signal suppresses midbrain visual processing during saccade-like locomotion. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7592. [PMID: 37996414 PMCID: PMC10667368 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43255-6] [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: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In motor control, the brain not only sends motor commands to the periphery, but also generates concurrent internal signals known as corollary discharge (CD) that influence sensory information processing around the time of movement. CD signals are important for identifying sensory input arising from self-motion and to compensate for it, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using whole-cell patch clamp recordings from neurons in the zebrafish optic tectum, we discovered an inhibitory synaptic signal, temporally locked to spontaneous and visually driven locomotion. This motor-related inhibition was appropriately timed to counteract visually driven excitatory input arising from the fish's own motion, and transiently suppressed tectal spiking activity. High-resolution calcium imaging revealed localized motor-related signals in the tectal neuropil and the upstream torus longitudinalis, suggesting that CD enters the tectum via this pathway. Together, our results show how visual processing is suppressed during self-motion by motor-related phasic inhibition. This may help explain perceptual saccadic suppression observed in many species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mir Ahsan Ali
- Developmental Biology, Institute of Biology I, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Lischka
- Developmental Biology, Institute of Biology I, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie J Preuss
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Springer Nature Group, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Chintan A Trivedi
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Dept Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Johann H Bollmann
- Developmental Biology, Institute of Biology I, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Bernstein Center Freiburg, University of Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
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13
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Tanaka R, Zhou B, Agrochao M, Badwan BA, Au B, Matos NCB, Clark DA. Neural mechanisms to incorporate visual counterevidence in self-movement estimation. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4960-4979.e7. [PMID: 37918398 PMCID: PMC10848174 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.011] [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: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
In selecting appropriate behaviors, animals should weigh sensory evidence both for and against specific beliefs about the world. For instance, animals measure optic flow to estimate and control their own rotation. However, existing models of flow detection can be spuriously triggered by visual motion created by objects moving in the world. Here, we show that stationary patterns on the retina, which constitute evidence against observer rotation, suppress inappropriate stabilizing rotational behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila. In silico experiments show that artificial neural networks (ANNs) that are optimized to distinguish observer movement from external object motion similarly detect stationarity and incorporate negative evidence. Employing neural measurements and genetic manipulations, we identified components of the circuitry for stationary pattern detection, which runs parallel to the fly's local motion and optic-flow detectors. Our results show how the fly brain incorporates negative evidence to improve heading stability, exemplifying how a compact brain exploits geometrical constraints of the visual world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Tanaka
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Baohua Zhou
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Margarida Agrochao
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Bara A Badwan
- School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Braedyn Au
- Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Natalia C B Matos
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Damon A Clark
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Quantitative Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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14
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Ros IG, Omoto JJ, Dickinson MH. Descending control and regulation of spontaneous flight turns in Drosophila. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.06.555791. [PMID: 37732262 PMCID: PMC10508747 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.06.555791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
The clumped distribution of resources in the world has influenced the pattern of foraging behavior since the origins of life, selecting for a common locomotor search motif in which straight movements through resource-poor regions alternate with zig -zag exploration in resource-rich domains. For example, flies execute rapid changes in flight heading called body saccades during local search, but suppress these turns during long-distance dispersal or when surging upwind after encountering an attractive odor plume. Here, we describe the key cellular components of a neural network in flies that generates spontaneous turns as well as a specialized neuron that inhibits the network to promote straight flight. Using 2-photon imaging, optogenetic activation, and genetic ablation, we show that only four descending neurons appear sufficient to generate the descending commands to execute flight saccades. The network is organized into two functional couplets-one for right turns and one for left-with each couplet consisting of an excitatory (DNae014) and inhibitory (DNb01) neuron that project to the flight motor neuropil within the ventral nerve cord. Using resources from recently published connectomes of the fly brain, we identified a large, unique interneuron (VES041) that forms inhibitory connections to all four saccade command neurons and created specific genetic driver lines for this cell. As suggested by its connectivity, activation of VES041 strongly suppresses saccades, suggesting that it regulates the transition between local search and long-distance dispersal. These results thus identify the critical elements of a network that not only structures the locomotor behavior of flies, but may also play a crucial role in their natural foraging ecology.
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15
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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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16
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Wallach A, Sawtell NB. An internal model for canceling self-generated sensory input in freely behaving electric fish. Neuron 2023; 111:2570-2582.e5. [PMID: 37321221 PMCID: PMC10524831 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Internal models that predict the sensory consequences of motor actions are vital for sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. However, the relationship between motor action and sensory input is complex, often varying from one moment to another depending on the state of the animal and the environment. The neural mechanisms for generating predictions under such challenging, real-world conditions remain largely unknown. Using novel methods for underwater neural recording, a quantitative analysis of unconstrained behavior, and computational modeling, we provide evidence for an unexpectedly sophisticated internal model at the first stage of active electrosensory processing in mormyrid fish. Closed-loop manipulations reveal that electrosensory lobe neurons are capable of simultaneously learning and storing multiple predictions of the sensory consequences of motor commands specific to different sensory states. These results provide mechanistic insights into how internal motor signals and information about the sensory environment are combined within a cerebellum-like circuitry to predict the sensory consequences of natural behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avner Wallach
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Nathaniel B Sawtell
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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17
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Chiappe ME. Circuits for self-motion estimation and walking control in Drosophila. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 81:102748. [PMID: 37453230 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102748] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
The brain's evolution and operation are inextricably linked to animal movement, and critical functions, such as motor control, spatial perception, and navigation, rely on precise knowledge of body movement. Such internal estimates of self-motion emerge from the integration of mechanosensory and visual feedback with motor-related signals. Thus, this internal representation likely depends on the activity of circuits distributed across the central nervous system. However, the circuits responsible for self-motion estimation, and the exact mechanisms by which motor-sensory coordination occurs within these circuits remain poorly understood. Recent technological advances have positioned Drosophila melanogaster as an advantageous model for investigating the emergence, maintenance, and utilization of self-motion representations during naturalistic walking behaviors. In this review, I will illustrate how the adult fly is providing insights into the fundamental problems of self-motion computations and walking control, which have relevance for all animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Eugenia Chiappe
- Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal.
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18
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Tanaka R, Zhou B, Agrochao M, Badwan BA, Au B, Matos NCB, Clark DA. Neural mechanisms to incorporate visual counterevidence in self motion estimation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.04.522814. [PMID: 36711843 PMCID: PMC9881891 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.04.522814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
In selecting appropriate behaviors, animals should weigh sensory evidence both for and against specific beliefs about the world. For instance, animals measure optic flow to estimate and control their own rotation. However, existing models of flow detection can confuse the movement of external objects with genuine self motion. Here, we show that stationary patterns on the retina, which constitute negative evidence against self rotation, are used by the fruit fly Drosophila to suppress inappropriate stabilizing rotational behavior. In silico experiments show that artificial neural networks optimized to distinguish self and world motion similarly detect stationarity and incorporate negative evidence. Employing neural measurements and genetic manipulations, we identified components of the circuitry for stationary pattern detection, which runs parallel to the fly's motion- and optic flow-detectors. Our results exemplify how the compact brain of the fly incorporates negative evidence to improve heading stability, exploiting geometrical constraints of the visual world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Tanaka
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Present Address: Institute of Neuroscience, Technical University of Munich, Munich 80802, Germany
| | - Baohua Zhou
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Margarida Agrochao
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Bara A. Badwan
- School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Braedyn Au
- Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Natalia C. B. Matos
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Damon A. Clark
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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19
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Cheong HSJ, Boone KN, Bennett MM, Salman F, Ralston JD, Hatch K, Allen RF, Phelps AM, Cook AP, Phelps JS, Erginkaya M, Lee WCA, Card GM, Daly KC, Dacks AM. Organization of an Ascending Circuit that Conveys Flight Motor State. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.07.544074. [PMID: 37333334 PMCID: PMC10274802 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.07.544074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Natural behaviors are a coordinated symphony of motor acts which drive self-induced or reafferent sensory activation. Single sensors only signal presence and magnitude of a sensory cue; they cannot disambiguate exafferent (externally-induced) from reafferent sources. Nevertheless, animals readily differentiate between these sources of sensory signals to make appropriate decisions and initiate adaptive behavioral outcomes. This is mediated by predictive motor signaling mechanisms, which emanate from motor control pathways to sensory processing pathways, but how predictive motor signaling circuits function at the cellular and synaptic level is poorly understood. We use a variety of techniques, including connectomics from both male and female electron microscopy volumes, transcriptomics, neuroanatomical, physiological and behavioral approaches to resolve the network architecture of two pairs of ascending histaminergic neurons (AHNs), which putatively provide predictive motor signals to several sensory and motor neuropil. Both AHN pairs receive input primarily from an overlapping population of descending neurons, many of which drive wing motor output. The two AHN pairs target almost exclusively non-overlapping downstream neural networks including those that process visual, auditory and mechanosensory information as well as networks coordinating wing, haltere, and leg motor output. These results support the conclusion that the AHN pairs multi-task, integrating a large amount of common input, then tile their output in the brain, providing predictive motor signals to non-overlapping sensory networks affecting motor control both directly and indirectly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han S. J. Cheong
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, United States of America
| | - Kaitlyn N. Boone
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Marryn M. Bennett
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Farzaan Salman
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Jacob D. Ralston
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Kaleb Hatch
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Raven F. Allen
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Alec M. Phelps
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Andrew P. Cook
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Jasper S. Phelps
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States of America
| | - Mert Erginkaya
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Wei-Chung A. Lee
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States of America
| | - Gwyneth M. Card
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, United States of America
- Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of America
| | - Kevin C. Daly
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
| | - Andrew M. Dacks
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States of America
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20
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Daly KC, Dacks A. The self as part of the sensory ecology: how behavior affects sensation from the inside out. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 58:101053. [PMID: 37290318 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Insects exhibit remarkable sensory and motor capabilities to successfully navigate their environment. As insects move, they activate sensory afferents. Hence, insects are inextricably part of their sensory ecology. Insects must correctly attribute self- versus external sources of sensory activation to make adaptive behavioral choices. This is achieved via corollary discharge circuits (CDCs), motor-to-sensory neuronal pathways providing predictive motor signals to sensory networks to coordinate sensory processing within the context of ongoing behavior. While CDCs provide predictive motor signals, their underlying mechanisms of action and functional consequences are diverse. Here, we describe inferred CDCs and identified corollary discharge interneurons (CDIs) in insects, highlighting their anatomical commonalities and our limited understanding of their synaptic integration into the nervous system. By using connectomics information, we demonstrate that the complexity with which identified CDIs integrate into the central nervous system (CNS) can be revealed.
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21
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Currier TA, Pang MM, Clandinin TR. Visual processing in the fly, from photoreceptors to behavior. Genetics 2023; 224:iyad064. [PMID: 37128740 PMCID: PMC10213501 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Originally a genetic model organism, the experimental use of Drosophila melanogaster has grown to include quantitative behavioral analyses, sophisticated perturbations of neuronal function, and detailed sensory physiology. A highlight of these developments can be seen in the context of vision, where pioneering studies have uncovered fundamental and generalizable principles of sensory processing. Here we begin with an overview of vision-guided behaviors and common methods for probing visual circuits. We then outline the anatomy and physiology of brain regions involved in visual processing, beginning at the sensory periphery and ending with descending motor control. Areas of focus include contrast and motion detection in the optic lobe, circuits for visual feature selectivity, computations in support of spatial navigation, and contextual associative learning. Finally, we look to the future of fly visual neuroscience and discuss promising topics for further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A Currier
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Michelle M Pang
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Thomas R Clandinin
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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22
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Kim G, An J, Ha S, Kim AJ. A deep learning analysis of Drosophila body kinematics during magnetically tethered flight. J Neurogenet 2023:1-10. [PMID: 37200153 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2023.2210682] [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: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Flying Drosophila rely on their vision to detect visual objects and adjust their flight course. Despite their robust fixation on a dark, vertical bar, our understanding of the underlying visuomotor neural circuits remains limited, in part due to difficulties in analyzing detailed body kinematics in a sensitive behavioral assay. In this study, we observed the body kinematics of flying Drosophila using a magnetically tethered flight assay, in which flies are free to rotate around their yaw axis, enabling naturalistic visual and proprioceptive feedback. Additionally, we used deep learning-based video analyses to characterize the kinematics of multiple body parts in flying animals. By applying this pipeline of behavioral experiments and analyses, we characterized the detailed body kinematics during rapid flight turns (or saccades) in two different visual conditions: spontaneous flight saccades under static screen and bar-fixating saccades while tracking a rotating bar. We found that both types of saccades involved movements of multiple body parts and that the overall dynamics were comparable. Our study highlights the importance of sensitive behavioral assays and analysis tools for characterizing complex visual behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geonil Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - JoonHu An
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Subin Ha
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Anmo J Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
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23
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Chen CL, Aymanns F, Minegishi R, Matsuda VDV, Talabot N, Günel S, Dickson BJ, Ramdya P. Ascending neurons convey behavioral state to integrative sensory and action selection brain regions. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:682-695. [PMID: 36959417 PMCID: PMC10076225 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01281-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Knowing one's own behavioral state has long been theorized as critical for contextualizing dynamic sensory cues and identifying appropriate future behaviors. Ascending neurons (ANs) in the motor system that project to the brain are well positioned to provide such behavioral state signals. However, what ANs encode and where they convey these signals remains largely unknown. Here, through large-scale functional imaging in behaving animals and morphological quantification, we report the behavioral encoding and brain targeting of hundreds of genetically identifiable ANs in the adult fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We reveal that ANs encode behavioral states, specifically conveying self-motion to the anterior ventrolateral protocerebrum, an integrative sensory hub, as well as discrete actions to the gnathal ganglia, a locus for action selection. Additionally, AN projection patterns within the motor system are predictive of their encoding. Thus, ascending populations are well poised to inform distinct brain hubs of self-motion and ongoing behaviors and may provide an important substrate for computations that are required for adaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chin-Lin Chen
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Florian Aymanns
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ryo Minegishi
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Victor D V Matsuda
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Talabot
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Computer Vision Laboratory, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Semih Günel
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Computer Vision Laboratory, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Barry J Dickson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Pavan Ramdya
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Interfaculty Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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24
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Kim H, Park H, Lee J, Kim AJ. A visuomotor circuit for evasive flight turns in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2023; 33:321-335.e6. [PMID: 36603587 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Visual systems extract multiple features from a scene using parallel neural circuits. Ultimately, the separate neural signals must come together to coherently influence action. Here, we characterize a circuit in Drosophila that integrates multiple visual features related to imminent threats to drive evasive locomotor turns. We identified, using genetic perturbation methods, a pair of visual projection neurons (LPLC2) and descending neurons (DNp06) that underlie evasive flight turns in response to laterally moving or approaching visual objects. Using two-photon calcium imaging or whole-cell patch clamping, we show that these cells indeed respond to both translating and approaching visual patterns. Furthermore, by measuring visual responses of LPLC2 neurons after genetically silencing presynaptic motion-sensing neurons, we show that their visual properties emerge by integrating multiple visual features across two early visual structures: the lobula and the lobula plate. This study highlights a clear example of how distinct visual signals converge on a single class of visual neurons and then activate premotor neurons to drive action, revealing a concise visuomotor pathway for evasive flight maneuvers in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyosun Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea
| | - Hayun Park
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea
| | - Joowon Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea
| | - Anmo J Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea; Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea.
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25
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Font-Alaminos M, Paraskevoudi N, SanMiguel I. Actions do not clearly impact auditory memory. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1124784. [PMID: 36923585 PMCID: PMC10009998 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1124784] [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: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
When memorizing a list of words, those that are read aloud are remembered better than those read silently, a phenomenon known as the production effect. There have been several attempts to understand the production effect, however, actions alone have not been examined as possible contributors. Stimuli that coincide with our own actions are processed differently compared to stimuli presented passively to us. These sensory response modulations may have an impact on how action-revolving inputs are stored in memory. In this study, we investigated whether actions could impact auditory memory. Participants listened to sounds presented either during or in between their actions. We measured electrophysiological responses to the sounds and tested participants' memory of them. Results showed attenuation of sensory responses for action-coinciding sounds. However, we did not find a significant effect on memory performance. The absence of significant behavioral findings suggests that the production effect may be not dependent on the effects of actions per se. We conclude that action alone is not sufficient to improve memory performance, and thus elicit a production effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Font-Alaminos
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nadia Paraskevoudi
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iria SanMiguel
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
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26
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Fenk LM, Avritzer SC, Weisman JL, Nair A, Randt LD, Mohren TL, Siwanowicz I, Maimon G. Muscles that move the retina augment compound eye vision in Drosophila. Nature 2022; 612:116-122. [PMID: 36289333 PMCID: PMC10103069 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05317-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Most animals have compound eyes, with tens to thousands of lenses attached rigidly to the exoskeleton. A natural assumption is that all of these species must resort to moving either their head or their body to actively change their visual input. However, classic anatomy has revealed that flies have muscles poised to move their retinas under the stable lenses of each compound eye1-3. Here we show that Drosophila use their retinal muscles to smoothly track visual motion, which helps to stabilize the retinal image, and also to perform small saccades when viewing a stationary scene. We show that when the retina moves, visual receptive fields shift accordingly, and that even the smallest retinal saccades activate visual neurons. Using a head-fixed behavioural paradigm, we find that Drosophila perform binocular, vergence movements of their retinas-which could enhance depth perception-when crossing gaps, and impairing the physiology of retinal motor neurons alters gap-crossing trajectories during free behaviour. That flies evolved an ability to actuate their retinas suggests that moving the eye independently of the head is broadly paramount for animals. The similarities of smooth and saccadic movements of the Drosophila retina and the vertebrate eye highlight a notable example of convergent evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Fenk
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
- Active Sensing, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (in foundation), Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Sofia C Avritzer
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jazz L Weisman
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aditya Nair
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lucas D Randt
- Active Sensing, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (in foundation), Martinsried, Germany
| | - Thomas L Mohren
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Igor Siwanowicz
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Gaby Maimon
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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27
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Lele AS, Fang Y, Anwar A, Raychowdhury A. Bio-mimetic high-speed target localization with fused frame and event vision for edge application. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1010302. [PMID: 36507348 PMCID: PMC9732385 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1010302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolution has honed predatory skills in the natural world where localizing and intercepting fast-moving prey is required. The current generation of robotic systems mimics these biological systems using deep learning. High-speed processing of the camera frames using convolutional neural networks (CNN) (frame pipeline) on such constrained aerial edge-robots gets resource-limited. Adding more compute resources also eventually limits the throughput at the frame rate of the camera as frame-only traditional systems fail to capture the detailed temporal dynamics of the environment. Bio-inspired event cameras and spiking neural networks (SNN) provide an asynchronous sensor-processor pair (event pipeline) capturing the continuous temporal details of the scene for high-speed but lag in terms of accuracy. In this work, we propose a target localization system combining event-camera and SNN-based high-speed target estimation and frame-based camera and CNN-driven reliable object detection by fusing complementary spatio-temporal prowess of event and frame pipelines. One of our main contributions involves the design of an SNN filter that borrows from the neural mechanism for ego-motion cancelation in houseflies. It fuses the vestibular sensors with the vision to cancel the activity corresponding to the predator's self-motion. We also integrate the neuro-inspired multi-pipeline processing with task-optimized multi-neuronal pathway structure in primates and insects. The system is validated to outperform CNN-only processing using prey-predator drone simulations in realistic 3D virtual environments. The system is then demonstrated in a real-world multi-drone set-up with emulated event data. Subsequently, we use recorded actual sensory data from multi-camera and inertial measurement unit (IMU) assembly to show desired working while tolerating the realistic noise in vision and IMU sensors. We analyze the design space to identify optimal parameters for spiking neurons, CNN models, and for checking their effect on the performance metrics of the fused system. Finally, we map the throughput controlling SNN and fusion network on edge-compatible Zynq-7000 FPGA to show a potential 264 outputs per second even at constrained resource availability. This work may open new research directions by coupling multiple sensing and processing modalities inspired by discoveries in neuroscience to break fundamental trade-offs in frame-based computer vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Sanjay Lele
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Yan Fang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA, United States
| | - Aqeel Anwar
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Arijit Raychowdhury
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
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28
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Turner MH, Krieger A, Pang MM, Clandinin TR. Visual and motor signatures of locomotion dynamically shape a population code for feature detection in Drosophila. eLife 2022; 11:e82587. [PMID: 36300621 PMCID: PMC9651947 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural vision is dynamic: as an animal moves, its visual input changes dramatically. How can the visual system reliably extract local features from an input dominated by self-generated signals? In Drosophila, diverse local visual features are represented by a group of projection neurons with distinct tuning properties. Here, we describe a connectome-based volumetric imaging strategy to measure visually evoked neural activity across this population. We show that local visual features are jointly represented across the population, and a shared gain factor improves trial-to-trial coding fidelity. A subset of these neurons, tuned to small objects, is modulated by two independent signals associated with self-movement, a motor-related signal, and a visual motion signal associated with rotation of the animal. These two inputs adjust the sensitivity of these feature detectors across the locomotor cycle, selectively reducing their gain during saccades and restoring it during intersaccadic intervals. This work reveals a strategy for reliable feature detection during locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell H Turner
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Avery Krieger
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Michelle M Pang
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
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29
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Ahn MH, Alsabbagh N, Lee HJ, Kim HJ, Jung MH, Hong SK. Neurobiological Signatures of Auditory False Perception and Phantom Perception as a Consequence of Sensory Prediction Errors. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11101501. [PMID: 36290405 PMCID: PMC9598671 DOI: 10.3390/biology11101501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we hypothesized that top-down sensory prediction error due to peripheral hearing loss might influence sensorimotor integration using the efference copy (EC) signals as functional connections between auditory and motor brain areas. Using neurophysiological methods, we demonstrated that the auditory responses to self-generated sound were not suppressed in a group of patients with tinnitus accompanied by significant hearing impairment and in a schizophrenia group. However, the response was attenuated in a group with tinnitus accompanied by mild hearing impairment, similar to a healthy control group. The bias of attentional networks to self-generated sound was also observed in the subjects with tinnitus with significant hearing impairment compared to those with mild hearing impairment and healthy subjects, but it did not reach the notable disintegration found in those in the schizophrenia group. Even though the present study had significant constraints in that we did not include hearing loss subjects without tinnitus, these results might suggest that auditory deafferentation (hearing loss) may influence sensorimotor integration process using EC signals. However, the impaired sensorimotor integration in subjects with tinnitus with significant hearing impairment may have resulted from aberrant auditory signals due to sensory loss, not fundamental deficits in the reafference system, as the auditory attention network to self-generated sound is relatively well preserved in these subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Hee Ahn
- Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Sciences for Convergence Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
| | - Nour Alsabbagh
- Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Sciences for Convergence Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
| | - Hyo-Jeong Lee
- Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Sciences for Convergence Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
| | - Hyung-Jong Kim
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
| | - Myung-Hun Jung
- Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
- Correspondence: (M.-H.J.); (S.-K.H.); Tel.: +82-31-380-3849 (S.-K.H.)
| | - Sung-Kwang Hong
- Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Sciences for Convergence Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang 14068, Korea
- Correspondence: (M.-H.J.); (S.-K.H.); Tel.: +82-31-380-3849 (S.-K.H.)
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30
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Fischer PJ, Schnell B. Multiple mechanisms mediate the suppression of motion vision during escape maneuvers in flying Drosophila. iScience 2022; 25:105143. [PMID: 36185378 PMCID: PMC9523382 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Jules Fischer
- Emmy Noether Group Neurobiology of Flight Control, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar, 53175 Bonn, Germany
| | - Bettina Schnell
- Emmy Noether Group Neurobiology of Flight Control, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar, 53175 Bonn, Germany
- Corresponding author
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31
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Flavell SW, Gogolla N, Lovett-Barron M, Zelikowsky M. The emergence and influence of internal states. Neuron 2022; 110:2545-2570. [PMID: 35643077 PMCID: PMC9391310 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Animal behavior is shaped by a variety of "internal states"-partially hidden variables that profoundly shape perception, cognition, and action. The neural basis of internal states, such as fear, arousal, hunger, motivation, aggression, and many others, is a prominent focus of research efforts across animal phyla. Internal states can be inferred from changes in behavior, physiology, and neural dynamics and are characterized by properties such as pleiotropy, persistence, scalability, generalizability, and valence. To date, it remains unclear how internal states and their properties are generated by nervous systems. Here, we review recent progress, which has been driven by advances in behavioral quantification, cellular manipulations, and neural population recordings. We synthesize research implicating defined subsets of state-inducing cell types, widespread changes in neural activity, and neuromodulation in the formation and updating of internal states. In addition to highlighting the significance of these findings, our review advocates for new approaches to clarify the underpinnings of internal brain states across the animal kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven W Flavell
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Nadine Gogolla
- Emotion Research Department, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany; Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Matthew Lovett-Barron
- Division of Biological Sciences-Neurobiology Section, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Moriel Zelikowsky
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
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32
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Paraskevoudi N, SanMiguel I. Sensory suppression and increased neuromodulation during actions disrupt memory encoding of unpredictable self-initiated stimuli. Psychophysiology 2022; 60:e14156. [PMID: 35918912 PMCID: PMC10078310 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Actions modulate sensory processing by attenuating responses to self- compared to externally generated inputs, which is traditionally attributed to stimulus-specific motor predictions. Yet, suppression has been also found for stimuli merely coinciding with actions, pointing to unspecific processes that may be driven by neuromodulatory systems. Meanwhile, the differential processing for self-generated stimuli raises the possibility of producing effects also on memory for these stimuli; however, evidence remains mixed as to the direction of the effects. Here, we assessed the effects of actions on sensory processing and memory encoding of concomitant, but unpredictable sounds, using a combination of self-generation and memory recognition task concurrently with EEG and pupil recordings. At encoding, subjects performed button presses that half of the time generated a sound (motor-auditory; MA) and listened to passively presented sounds (auditory-only; A). At retrieval, two sounds were presented and participants had to respond which one was present before. We measured memory bias and memory performance by having sequences where either both or only one of the test sounds were presented at encoding, respectively. Results showed worse memory performance - but no differences in memory bias -, attenuated responses, and larger pupil diameter for MA compared to A sounds. Critically, the larger the sensory attenuation and pupil diameter, the worse the memory performance for MA sounds. Nevertheless, sensory attenuation did not correlate with pupil dilation. Collectively, our findings suggest that sensory attenuation and neuromodulatory processes coexist during actions, and both relate to disrupted memory for concurrent, albeit unpredictable sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Paraskevoudi
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iria SanMiguel
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Departament de Psicologia Clinica i Psicobiologia, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
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33
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Fujiwara T, Brotas M, Chiappe ME. 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] [MESH Headings] [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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terufumi Fujiwara
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Margarida Brotas
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal
| | - M Eugenia Chiappe
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal.
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34
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Ryu L, Kim SY, Kim AJ. From Photons to Behaviors: Neural Implementations of Visual Behaviors in Drosophila. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:883640. [PMID: 35600623 PMCID: PMC9115102 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.883640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural implementations of visual behaviors in Drosophila have been dissected intensively in the past couple of decades. The availability of premiere genetic toolkits, behavioral assays in tethered or freely moving conditions, and advances in connectomics have permitted the understanding of the physiological and anatomical details of the nervous system underlying complex visual behaviors. In this review, we describe recent advances on how various features of a visual scene are detected by the Drosophila visual system and how the neural circuits process these signals and elicit an appropriate behavioral response. Special emphasis was laid on the neural circuits that detect visual features such as brightness, color, local motion, optic flow, and translating or approaching visual objects, which would be important for behaviors such as phototaxis, optomotor response, attraction (or aversion) to moving objects, navigation, and visual learning. This review offers an integrative framework for how the fly brain detects visual features and orchestrates an appropriate behavioral response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leesun Ryu
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sung Yong Kim
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Anmo J. Kim
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
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35
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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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36
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Evans BJE, O’Carroll DC, Fabian JM, Wiederman SD. Dragonfly Neurons Selectively Attend to Targets Within Natural Scenes. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:857071. [PMID: 35450210 PMCID: PMC9017788 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.857071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Aerial predators, such as the dragonfly, determine the position and movement of their prey even when both are moving through complex, natural scenes. This task is likely supported by a group of neurons in the optic lobe which respond to moving targets that subtend less than a few degrees. These Small Target Motion Detector (STMD) neurons are tuned to both target size and velocity, whilst also exhibiting facilitated responses to targets traveling along continuous trajectories. When presented with a pair of targets, some STMDs generate spiking activity that represent a competitive selection of one target, as if the alternative does not exist (i.e., selective attention). Here, we describe intracellular responses of CSTMD1 (an identified STMD) to the visual presentation of targets embedded within cluttered, natural scenes. We examine CSTMD1 response changes to target contrast, as well as a range of target and background velocities. We find that background motion affects CSTMD1 responses via the competitive selection between features within the natural scene. Here, robust discrimination of our artificially embedded "target" is limited to scenarios when its velocity is matched to, or greater than, the background velocity. Additionally, the background's direction of motion affects discriminability, though not in the manner observed in STMDs of other flying insects. Our results highlight that CSTMD1's competitive responses are to those features best matched to the neuron's underlying spatiotemporal tuning, whether from the embedded target or other features in the background clutter. In many scenarios, CSTMD1 responds robustly to targets moving through cluttered scenes. However, whether this neuronal system could underlie the task of competitively selecting slow moving prey against fast-moving backgrounds remains an open question.
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37
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Context-dependent control of behavior in Drosophila. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102523. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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38
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Odstrcil I, Petkova MD, Haesemeyer M, Boulanger-Weill J, Nikitchenko M, Gagnon JA, Oteiza P, Schalek R, Peleg A, Portugues R, Lichtman JW, Engert F. Functional and ultrastructural analysis of reafferent mechanosensation in larval zebrafish. Curr Biol 2022; 32:176-189.e5. [PMID: 34822765 PMCID: PMC8752774 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
All animals need to differentiate between exafferent stimuli, which are caused by the environment, and reafferent stimuli, which are caused by their own movement. In the case of mechanosensation in aquatic animals, the exafferent inputs are water vibrations in the animal's proximity, which need to be distinguishable from the reafferent inputs arising from fluid drag due to locomotion. Both of these inputs are detected by the lateral line, a collection of mechanosensory organs distributed along the surface of the body. In this study, we characterize in detail how hair cells-the receptor cells of the lateral line-in zebrafish larvae discriminate between such reafferent and exafferent signals. Using dye labeling of the lateral line nerve, we visualize two parallel descending inputs that can influence lateral line sensitivity. We combine functional imaging with ultra-structural EM circuit reconstruction to show that cholinergic signals originating from the hindbrain transmit efference copies (copies of the motor command that cancel out self-generated reafferent stimulation during locomotion) and that dopaminergic signals from the hypothalamus may have a role in threshold modulation, both in response to locomotion and salient stimuli. We further gain direct mechanistic insight into the core components of this circuit by loss-of-function perturbations using targeted ablations and gene knockouts. We propose that this simple circuit is the core implementation of mechanosensory reafferent suppression in these young animals and that it might form the first instantiation of state-dependent modulation found at later stages in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Odstrcil
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Mariela D Petkova
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Martin Haesemeyer
- The Ohio State University, Department of Neuroscience, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Jonathan Boulanger-Weill
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | - James A Gagnon
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; Center for Cell & Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Pablo Oteiza
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Flow Sensing Research Group, Seewiesen 82319, Germany
| | - Richard Schalek
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Adi Peleg
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ruben Portugues
- Institute of Neuroscience, Technical University of Munich, Munich 80333, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Research Group of Sensorimotor Control, Martinsried 82152, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Jeff W Lichtman
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Florian Engert
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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39
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Devineni AV, Scaplen KM. Neural Circuits Underlying Behavioral Flexibility: Insights From Drosophila. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 15:821680. [PMID: 35069145 PMCID: PMC8770416 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.821680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral flexibility is critical to survival. Animals must adapt their behavioral responses based on changes in the environmental context, internal state, or experience. Studies in Drosophila melanogaster have provided insight into the neural circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral flexibility. Here we discuss how Drosophila behavior is modulated by internal and behavioral state, environmental context, and learning. We describe general principles of neural circuit organization and modulation that underlie behavioral flexibility, principles that are likely to extend to other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita V. Devineni
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Kristin M. Scaplen
- Department of Psychology, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI, United States
- Center for Health and Behavioral Studies, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
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40
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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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41
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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: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [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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42
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Van De Poll MN, van Swinderen B. Balancing Prediction and Surprise: A Role for Active Sleep at the Dawn of Consciousness? Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:768762. [PMID: 34803618 PMCID: PMC8602873 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.768762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is a prediction machine. Yet the world is never entirely predictable, for any animal. Unexpected events are surprising, and this typically evokes prediction error signatures in mammalian brains. In humans such mismatched expectations are often associated with an emotional response as well, and emotional dysregulation can lead to cognitive disorders such as depression or schizophrenia. Emotional responses are understood to be important for memory consolidation, suggesting that positive or negative 'valence' cues more generally constitute an ancient mechanism designed to potently refine and generalize internal models of the world and thereby minimize prediction errors. On the other hand, abolishing error detection and surprise entirely (as could happen by generalization or habituation) is probably maladaptive, as this might undermine the very mechanism that brains use to become better prediction machines. This paradoxical view of brain function as an ongoing balance between prediction and surprise suggests a compelling approach to study and understand the evolution of consciousness in animals. In particular, this view may provide insight into the function and evolution of 'active' sleep. Here, we propose that active sleep - when animals are behaviorally asleep but their brain seems awake - is widespread beyond mammals and birds, and may have evolved as a mechanism for optimizing predictive processing in motile creatures confronted with constantly changing environments. To explore our hypothesis, we progress from humans to invertebrates, investigating how a potential role for rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in emotional regulation in humans could be re-examined as a conserved sleep function that co-evolved alongside selective attention to maintain an adaptive balance between prediction and surprise. This view of active sleep has some interesting implications for the evolution of subjective awareness and consciousness in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruno van Swinderen
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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43
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Hulse BK, Haberkern H, Franconville R, Turner-Evans D, 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:e66039. [PMID: 34696823 PMCID: PMC9477501 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [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 InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Hannah Haberkern
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Romain Franconville
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Daniel Turner-Evans
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Shin-ya Takemura
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Tanya Wolff
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Marcella Noorman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Marisa Dreher
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Chuntao Dan
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Ruchi Parekh
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Ann M Hermundstad
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Gerald M Rubin
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Vivek Jayaraman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
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44
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James JV, Cazzolato BS, Grainger S, Wiederman SD. Nonlinear, neuronal adaptation in insect vision models improves target discrimination within repetitively moving backgrounds. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2021; 16:066015. [PMID: 34555824 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac2988] [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: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Neurons which respond selectively to small moving targets, even against a cluttered background, have been identified in several insect species. To investigate what underlies these robust and highly selective responses, researchers have probed the neuronal circuitry in target-detecting, visual pathways. Observations in flies reveal nonlinear adaptation over time, composed of a fast onset and gradual decay. This adaptive processing is seen in both of the independent, parallel pathways encoding either luminance increments (ON channel) or decrements (OFF channel). The functional significance of this adaptive phenomenon has not been determined from physiological studies, though the asymmetrical time course suggests a role in suppressing responses to repetitive stimuli. We tested this possibility by comparing an implementation of fast adaptation against alternatives, using a model of insect 'elementary small target motion detectors'. We conducted target-detecting simulations on various natural backgrounds, that were shifted via several movement profiles (and target velocities). Using performance metrics, we confirmed that the fast adaptation observed in neuronal systems enhances target detection against a repetitively moving background. Such background movement would be encountered via natural ego-motion as the insect travels through the world. These findings show that this form of nonlinear, fast-adaptation (suitably implementable via cellular biophysics) plays a role analogous to background subtraction techniques in conventional computer vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- John V James
- School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA, Australia
- Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA, Australia
| | - Benjamin S Cazzolato
- School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA, Australia
| | - Steven Grainger
- School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA, Australia
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45
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Nicholas S, Nordström K. Efference copies: Context matters when ignoring self-induced motion. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R1388-R1390. [PMID: 34699803 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Across the animal kingdom, efference copies of neuronal motor commands are used to ensure our senses ignore stimuli generated by our own actions. New work shows that the underlying motivation for an action affects whether visual neurons are responsive to self-generated stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Nicholas
- Neuroscience, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
| | - Karin Nordström
- Neuroscience, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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46
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Fenk LM, Kim AJ, Maimon G. Suppression of motion vision during course-changing, but not course-stabilizing, navigational turns. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4608-4619.e3. [PMID: 34644548 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
From mammals to insects, locomotion has been shown to strongly modulate visual-system physiology. Does the manner in which a locomotor act is initiated change the modulation observed? We performed patch-clamp recordings from motion-sensitive visual neurons in tethered, flying Drosophila. We observed motor-related signals in flies performing flight turns in rapid response to looming discs and also during spontaneous turns, but motor-related signals were weak or non-existent in the context of turns made in response to brief pulses of unidirectional visual motion (i.e., optomotor responses). Thus, the act of a locomotor turn is variably associated with modulation of visual processing. These results can be understood via the following principle: suppress visual responses during course-changing, but not course-stabilizing, navigational turns. This principle is likely to apply broadly-even to mammals-whenever visual cells whose activity helps to stabilize a locomotor trajectory or the visual gaze angle are targeted for motor modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Fenk
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA; Active Sensing, Max Plank Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Anmo J Kim
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea.
| | - Gaby Maimon
- Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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47
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Cellini B, Salem W, Mongeau JM. Mechanisms of punctuated vision in fly flight. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4009-4024.e3. [PMID: 34329590 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
To guide locomotion, animals control gaze via movements of their eyes, head, and/or body, but how the nervous system controls gaze during complex motor tasks remains elusive. In many animals, shifts in gaze consist of periods of smooth movement punctuated by rapid eye saccades. Notably, eye movements are constrained by anatomical limits, which requires resetting eye position. By studying tethered, flying fruit flies (Drosophila), we show that flies perform stereotyped head saccades to reset gaze, analogous to optokinetic nystagmus in primates. Head-reset saccades interrupted head smooth movement for as little as 50 ms-representing less than 5% of the total flight time-thereby enabling punctuated gaze stabilization. By revealing the passive mechanics of the neck joint, we show that head-reset saccades leverage the neck's natural elastic recoil, enabling mechanically assisted redirection of gaze. The consistent head orientation at saccade initiation, the influence of the head's angular position on saccade rate, the decrease in wing saccade frequency in head-fixed flies, and the decrease in head-reset saccade rate in flies with their head range of motion restricted together implicate proprioception as the primary trigger of head-reset saccades. Wing-reset saccades were influenced by head orientation, establishing a causal link between neck sensory signals and the execution of body saccades. Head-reset saccades were abolished when flies switched to a landing state, demonstrating that head movements are gated by behavioral state. We propose a control architecture for active vision systems with limits in sensor range of motion. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Cellini
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Wael Salem
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Jean-Michel Mongeau
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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48
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Facilitation of neural responses to targets moving against optic flow. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2024966118. [PMID: 34531320 PMCID: PMC8463850 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024966118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Target detection in visual clutter is a difficult computational task that insects, with their poor spatial resolution compound eyes and small brains, do successfully and with extremely short behavioral delays. We here show that the responses of target selective descending neurons are attenuated by background motion in the same direction as target motion but facilitated by background motion in the opposite direction. This finding is important for understanding how target pursuit can occur in tandem with gaze stabilization. Indeed, the neural facilitation would come into effect if the hoverfly is subjected to background motion in one direction but the target it is pursuing moves in the opposite direction and could therefore be used to override gaze stabilizing corrective turns. For the human observer, it can be difficult to follow the motion of small objects, especially when they move against background clutter. In contrast, insects efficiently do this, as evidenced by their ability to capture prey, pursue conspecifics, or defend territories, even in highly textured surrounds. We here recorded from target selective descending neurons (TSDNs), which likely subserve these impressive behaviors. To simulate the type of optic flow that would be generated by the pursuer’s own movements through the world, we used the motion of a perspective corrected sparse dot field. We show that hoverfly TSDN responses to target motion are suppressed when such optic flow moves syn-directional to the target. Indeed, neural responses are strongly suppressed when targets move over either translational sideslip or rotational yaw. More strikingly, we show that TSDNs are facilitated by optic flow moving counterdirectional to the target, if the target moves horizontally. Furthermore, we show that a small, frontal spatial window of optic flow is enough to fully facilitate or suppress TSDN responses to target motion. We argue that such TSDN response facilitation could be beneficial in modulating corrective turns during target pursuit.
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49
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Goulard R, Buehlmann C, Niven JE, Graham P, Webb B. A unified mechanism for innate and learned visual landmark guidance in the insect central complex. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009383. [PMID: 34555013 PMCID: PMC8491911 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects can navigate efficiently in both novel and familiar environments, and this requires flexiblity in how they are guided by sensory cues. A prominent landmark, for example, can elicit strong innate behaviours (attraction or menotaxis) but can also be used, after learning, as a specific directional cue as part of a navigation memory. However, the mechanisms that allow both pathways to co-exist, interact or override each other are largely unknown. Here we propose a model for the behavioural integration of innate and learned guidance based on the neuroanatomy of the central complex (CX), adapted to control landmark guided behaviours. We consider a reward signal provided either by an innate attraction to landmarks or a long-term visual memory in the mushroom bodies (MB) that modulates the formation of a local vector memory in the CX. Using an operant strategy for a simulated agent exploring a simple world containing a single visual cue, we show how the generated short-term memory can support both innate and learned steering behaviour. In addition, we show how this architecture is consistent with the observed effects of unilateral MB lesions in ants that cause a reversion to innate behaviour. We suggest the formation of a directional memory in the CX can be interpreted as transforming rewarding (positive or negative) sensory signals into a mapping of the environment that describes the geometrical attractiveness (or repulsion). We discuss how this scheme might represent an ideal way to combine multisensory information gathered during the exploration of an environment and support optimal cue integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Goulard
- Institute for Perception, Action, and Behaviour, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Cornelia Buehlmann
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, John Maynard Smith Building, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy E. Niven
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, John Maynard Smith Building, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, John Maynard Smith Building, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Webb
- Institute for Perception, Action, and Behaviour, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
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50
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Paraskevoudi N, SanMiguel I. Self-generation and sound intensity interactively modulate perceptual bias, but not perceptual sensitivity. Sci Rep 2021; 11:17103. [PMID: 34429453 PMCID: PMC8385100 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96346-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to distinguish self-generated stimuli from those caused by external sources is critical for all behaving organisms. Although many studies point to a sensory attenuation of self-generated stimuli, recent evidence suggests that motor actions can result in either attenuated or enhanced perceptual processing depending on the environmental context (i.e., stimulus intensity). The present study employed 2-AFC sound detection and loudness discrimination tasks to test whether sound source (self- or externally-generated) and stimulus intensity (supra- or near-threshold) interactively modulate detection ability and loudness perception. Self-generation did not affect detection and discrimination sensitivity (i.e., detection thresholds and Just Noticeable Difference, respectively). However, in the discrimination task, we observed a significant interaction between self-generation and intensity on perceptual bias (i.e. Point of Subjective Equality). Supra-threshold self-generated sounds were perceived softer than externally-generated ones, while at near-threshold intensities self-generated sounds were perceived louder than externally-generated ones. Our findings provide empirical support to recent theories on how predictions and signal intensity modulate perceptual processing, pointing to interactive effects of intensity and self-generation that seem to be driven by a biased estimate of perceived loudness, rather by changes in detection and discrimination sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Paraskevoudi
- Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, P. Vall d'Hebron 171, 08035, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iria SanMiguel
- Brainlab-Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, P. Vall d'Hebron 171, 08035, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain.
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