1
|
Schretter CE, Sten TH, Klapoetke N, Shao M, Nern A, Dreher M, Bushey D, Robie AA, Taylor AL, Branson KM, Otopalik A, Ruta V, Rubin GM. Social state gates vision using three circuit mechanisms in Drosophila. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.15.585289. [PMID: 38559111 PMCID: PMC10979952 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.15.585289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Animals are often bombarded with visual information and must prioritize specific visual features based on their current needs. The neuronal circuits that detect and relay visual features have been well-studied. Yet, much less is known about how an animal adjusts its visual attention as its goals or environmental conditions change. During social behaviors, flies need to focus on nearby flies. Here, we study how the flow of visual information is altered when female Drosophila enter an aggressive state. From the connectome, we identified three state-dependent circuit motifs poised to selectively amplify the response of an aggressive female to fly-sized visual objects: convergence of excitatory inputs from neurons conveying select visual features and internal state; dendritic disinhibition of select visual feature detectors; and a switch that toggles between two visual feature detectors. Using cell-type-specific genetic tools, together with behavioral and neurophysiological analyses, we show that each of these circuit motifs function during female aggression. We reveal that features of this same switch operate in males during courtship pursuit, suggesting that disparate social behaviors may share circuit mechanisms. Our work provides a compelling example of using the connectome to infer circuit mechanisms that underlie dynamic processing of sensory signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tom Hindmarsh Sten
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nathan Klapoetke
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Mei Shao
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Aljoscha Nern
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Marisa Dreher
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Daniel Bushey
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Alice A Robie
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Adam L Taylor
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Kristin M Branson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Adriane Otopalik
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Vanessa Ruta
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gerald M Rubin
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Baden T. Ancestral photoreceptor diversity as the basis of visual behaviour. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:374-386. [PMID: 38253752 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02291-7] [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: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Animal colour vision is based on comparing signals from different photoreceptors. It is generally assumed that processing different spectral types of photoreceptor mainly serves colour vision. Here I propose instead that photoreceptors are parallel feature channels that differentially support visual-motor programmes like motion vision behaviours, prey capture and predator evasion. Colour vision may have emerged as a secondary benefit of these circuits, which originally helped aquatic vertebrates to visually navigate and segment their underwater world. Specifically, I suggest that ancestral vertebrate vision was built around three main systems, including a high-resolution general purpose greyscale system based on ancestral red cones and rods to mediate visual body stabilization and navigation, a high-sensitivity specialized foreground system based on ancestral ultraviolet cones to mediate threat detection and prey capture, and a net-suppressive system based on ancestral green and blue cones for regulating red/rod and ultraviolet circuits. This ancestral strategy probably still underpins vision today, and different vertebrate lineages have since adapted their original photoreceptor circuits to suit their diverse visual ecologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tom Baden
- University of Sussex, Sussex Neuroscience, Sussex Center for Sensory Neuroscience and Computation, Brighton, UK.
| |
Collapse
|