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Huang Y, Lu G, Zhao W, Zhang X, Jiang J, Xing Q. FlyDetector-Automated Monitoring Platform for the Visual-Motor Coordination of Honeybees in a Dynamic Obstacle Scene Using Digital Paradigm. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:7073. [PMID: 37631609 PMCID: PMC10458728 DOI: 10.3390/s23167073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Vision plays a crucial role in the ability of compound-eyed insects to perceive the characteristics of their surroundings. Compound-eyed insects (such as the honeybee) can change the optical flow input of the visual system by autonomously controlling their behavior, and this is referred to as visual-motor coordination (VMC). To analyze an insect's VMC mechanism in dynamic scenes, we developed a platform for studying insects that actively shape the optic flow of visual stimuli by adapting their flight behavior. Image-processing technology was applied to detect the posture and direction of insects' movement, and automatic control technology provided dynamic scene stimulation and automatic acquisition of perceptual insect behavior. In addition, a virtual mapping technique was used to reconstruct the visual cues of insects for VMC analysis in a dynamic obstacle scene. A simulation experiment at different target speeds of 1-12 m/s was performed to verify the applicability and accuracy of the platform. Our findings showed that the maximum detection speed was 8 m/s, and triggers were 95% accurate. The outdoor experiments showed that flight speed in the longitudinal axis of honeybees was more stable when facing dynamic barriers than static barriers after analyzing the change in geometric optic flow. Finally, several experiments showed that the platform can automatically and efficiently monitor honeybees' perception behavior, and can be applied to study most insects and their VMC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Huang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Guyue Lu
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Xinyao Zhang
- Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute, Shanghai 201108, China
| | - Jiawen Jiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Qiang Xing
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
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2
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Robledo-Ospina LE, Morehouse N, Escobar F, Tapia-McClung H, Narendra A, Rao D. Visual antipredator effects of web flexing in an orb web spider, with special reference to web decorations. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2023; 110:23. [PMID: 37219696 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01849-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Some visual antipredator strategies involve the rapid movement of highly contrasting body patterns to frighten or confuse the predator. Bright body colouration, however, can also be detected by potential predators and used as a cue. Among spiders, Argiope spp. are usually brightly coloured but they are not a common item in the diet of araneophagic wasps. When disturbed, Argiope executes a web-flexing behaviour in which they move rapidly and may be perceived as if they move backwards and towards an observer in front of the web. We studied the mechanisms underlying web-flexing behaviour as a defensive strategy. Using multispectral images and high-speed videos with deep-learning-based tracking techniques, we evaluated body colouration, body pattern, and spider kinematics from the perspective of a potential wasp predator. We show that the spider's abdomen is conspicuous, with a disruptive colouration pattern. We found that the body outline of spiders with web decorations was harder to detect when compared to spiders without decorations. The abdomen was also the body part that moved fastest, and its motion was composed mainly of translational (vertical) vectors in the potential predator's optical flow. In addition, with high contrast colouration, the spider's movement might be perceived as a sudden change in body size (looming effect) as perceived by the predator. These effects alongside the other visual cues may confuse potential wasp predators by breaking the spider body outline and affecting the wasp's flight manoeuvre, thereby deterring the wasp from executing the final attack.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis E Robledo-Ospina
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Nathan Morehouse
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Federico Escobar
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Horacio Tapia-McClung
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Inteligencia Artificial, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Ajay Narendra
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Dinesh Rao
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.
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3
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Beetz MJ, El Jundi B. The influence of stimulus history on directional coding in the monarch butterfly brain. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01633-x. [PMID: 37095358 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01633-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
The central complex is a brain region in the insect brain that houses a neural network specialized to encode directional information. Directional coding has traditionally been investigated with compass cues that revolve in full rotations and at constant angular velocities around the insect's head. However, these stimulus conditions do not fully simulate an insect's sensory perception of compass cues during navigation. In nature, an insect flight is characterized by abrupt changes in moving direction as well as constant changes in velocity. The influence of such varying cue dynamics on compass coding remains unclear. We performed long-term tetrode recordings from the brain of monarch butterflies to study how central complex neurons respond to different stimulus velocities and directions. As these butterflies derive directional information from the sun during migration, we measured the neural response to a virtual sun. The virtual sun was either presented as a spot that appeared at random angular positions or was rotated around the butterfly at different angular velocities and directions. By specifically manipulating the stimulus velocity and trajectory, we dissociated the influence of angular velocity and direction on compass coding. While the angular velocity substantially affected the tuning directedness, the stimulus trajectory influenced the shape of the angular tuning curve. Taken together, our results suggest that the central complex flexibly adjusts its directional coding to the current stimulus dynamics ensuring a precise compass even under highly demanding conditions such as during rapid flight maneuvers.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Basil El Jundi
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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4
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Clement L, Schwarz S, Wystrach A. An intrinsic oscillator underlies visual navigation in ants. Curr Biol 2023; 33:411-422.e5. [PMID: 36538930 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Many insects display lateral oscillations while moving, but how these oscillations are produced and participate in visual navigation remains unclear. Here, we show that visually navigating ants continuously display regular lateral oscillations coupled with variations of forward speed that strongly optimize the distance covered while simultaneously enabling them to scan left and right directions. This pattern of movement is produced endogenously and conserved across navigational contexts in two phylogenetically distant ant species. Moreover, the oscillations' amplitude can be modulated by both innate or learnt visual cues to adjust the exploration/exploitation balance to the current need. This lower-level motor pattern thus drastically reduces the degree of freedom needed for higher-level strategies to control behavior. The observed dynamical signature readily emerges from a simple neural circuit model of the insect's conserved pre-motor area known as the lateral accessory lobe, offering a surprisingly simple but effective neural control and endorsing oscillation as a core, ancestral way of moving in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Clement
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CBI, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France.
| | - Sebastian Schwarz
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CBI, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CBI, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
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5
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Wechsler SP, Bhandawat V. Behavioral algorithms and neural mechanisms underlying odor-modulated locomotion in insects. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb200261. [PMID: 36637433 PMCID: PMC10086387 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.200261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Odors released from mates and resources such as a host and food are often the first sensory signals that an animal can detect. Changes in locomotion in response to odors are an important mechanism by which animals access resources important to their survival. Odor-modulated changes in locomotion in insects constitute a whole suite of flexible behaviors that allow insects to close in on these resources from long distances and perform local searches to locate and subsequently assess them. Here, we review changes in odor-mediated locomotion across many insect species. We emphasize that changes in locomotion induced by odors are diverse. In particular, the olfactory stimulus is sporadic at long distances and becomes more continuous at short distances. This distance-dependent change in temporal profile produces a corresponding change in an insect's locomotory strategy. We also discuss the neural circuits underlying odor modulation of locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel P. Wechsler
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sciences and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Vikas Bhandawat
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sciences and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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6
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Ravi S, Siesenop T, Bertrand OJ, Li L, Doussot C, Fisher A, Warren WH, Egelhaaf M. Bumblebees display characteristics of active vision during robust obstacle avoidance flight. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274096. [PMID: 35067721 PMCID: PMC8920035 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Insects are remarkable flyers and capable of navigating through highly cluttered environments. We tracked the head and thorax of bumblebees freely flying in a tunnel containing vertically oriented obstacles to uncover the sensorimotor strategies used for obstacle detection and collision avoidance. Bumblebees presented all the characteristics of active vision during flight by stabilizing their head relative to the external environment and maintained close alignment between their gaze and flightpath. Head stabilization increased motion contrast of nearby features against the background to enable obstacle detection. As bees approached obstacles, they appeared to modulate avoidance responses based on the relative retinal expansion velocity (RREV) of obstacles and their maximum evasion acceleration was linearly related to RREVmax. Finally, bees prevented collisions through rapid roll manoeuvres implemented by their thorax. Overall, the combination of visuo-motor strategies of bumblebees highlights elegant solutions developed by insects for visually guided flight through cluttered environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Ravi
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany,School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia,Author for correspondence ()
| | - Tim Siesenop
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Olivier J. Bertrand
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Liang Li
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Charlotte Doussot
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Alex Fisher
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - William H. Warren
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
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7
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Langridge KV, Wilke C, Riabinina O, Vorobyev M, Hempel de Ibarra N. Approach Direction Prior to Landing Explains Patterns of Colour Learning in Bees. Front Physiol 2021; 12:697886. [PMID: 34955870 PMCID: PMC8692860 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.697886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Gaze direction is closely coupled with body movement in insects and other animals. If movement patterns interfere with the acquisition of visual information, insects can actively adjust them to seek relevant cues. Alternatively, where multiple visual cues are available, an insect's movements may influence how it perceives a scene. We show that the way a foraging bumblebee approaches a floral pattern could determine what it learns about the pattern. When trained to vertical bicoloured patterns, bumblebees consistently approached from below centre in order to land in the centre of the target where the reward was located. In subsequent tests, the bees preferred the colour of the lower half of the pattern that they predominantly faced during the approach and landing sequence. A predicted change of learning outcomes occurred when the contrast line was moved up or down off-centre: learned preferences again reflected relative frontal exposure to each colour during the approach, independent of the overall ratio of colours. This mechanism may underpin learning strategies in both simple and complex visual discriminations, highlighting that morphology and action patterns determines how animals solve sensory learning tasks. The deterministic effect of movement on visual learning may have substantially influenced the evolution of floral signals, particularly where plants depend on fine-scaled movements of pollinators on flowers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keri V. Langridge
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Wilke
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Olena Riabinina
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Misha Vorobyev
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Natalie Hempel de Ibarra
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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8
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Berger Dauxère A, Serres JR, Montagne G. Ecological Entomology: How Is Gibson's Framework Useful? INSECTS 2021; 12:1075. [PMID: 34940163 PMCID: PMC8703479 DOI: 10.3390/insects12121075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
To date, numerous studies have demonstrated the fundamental role played by optic flow in the control of goal-directed displacement tasks in insects. Optic flow was first introduced by Gibson as part of their ecological approach to perception and action. While this theoretical approach (as a whole) has been demonstrated to be particularly suitable for the study of goal-directed displacements in humans, its usefulness in carrying out entomological field studies remains to be established. In this review we would like to demonstrate that the ecological approach to perception and action could be relevant for the entomologist community in their future investigations. This approach could provide a conceptual and methodological framework for the community in order to: (i) take a critical look at the research carried out to date, (ii) develop rigorous and innovative experimental protocols, and (iii) define scientific issues that push the boundaries of the current scientific field. After a concise literature review about the perceptual control of displacement in insects, we will present the framework proposed by Gibson and suggest its added value for carrying out research in the field of behavioral ecology in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimie Berger Dauxère
- The Institute of Movement Sciences, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, ISM, CEDEX 07, 13284 Marseille, France; (J.R.S.); (G.M.)
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9
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Li J, Niemeier M, Kern R, Egelhaaf M. Disentangling of Local and Wide-Field Motion Adaptation. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:713285. [PMID: 34531728 PMCID: PMC8438216 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.713285] [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] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Motion adaptation has been attributed in flying insects a pivotal functional role in spatial vision based on optic flow. Ongoing motion enhances in the visual pathway the representation of spatial discontinuities, which manifest themselves as velocity discontinuities in the retinal optic flow pattern during translational locomotion. There is evidence for different spatial scales of motion adaptation at the different visual processing stages. Motion adaptation is supposed to take place, on the one hand, on a retinotopic basis at the level of local motion detecting neurons and, on the other hand, at the level of wide-field neurons pooling the output of many of these local motion detectors. So far, local and wide-field adaptation could not be analyzed separately, since conventional motion stimuli jointly affect both adaptive processes. Therefore, we designed a novel stimulus paradigm based on two types of motion stimuli that had the same overall strength but differed in that one led to local motion adaptation while the other did not. We recorded intracellularly the activity of a particular wide-field motion-sensitive neuron, the horizontal system equatorial cell (HSE) in blowflies. The experimental data were interpreted based on a computational model of the visual motion pathway, which included the spatially pooling HSE-cell. By comparing the difference between the recorded and modeled HSE-cell responses induced by the two types of motion adaptation, the major characteristics of local and wide-field adaptation could be pinpointed. Wide-field adaptation could be shown to strongly depend on the activation level of the cell and, thus, on the direction of motion. In contrast, the response gain is reduced by local motion adaptation to a similar extent independent of the direction of motion. This direction-independent adaptation differs fundamentally from the well-known adaptive adjustment of response gain according to the prevailing overall stimulus level that is considered essential for an efficient signal representation by neurons with a limited operating range. Direction-independent adaptation is discussed to result from the joint activity of local motion-sensitive neurons of different preferred directions and to lead to a representation of the local motion direction that is independent of the overall direction of global motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinglin Li
- Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Roland Kern
- Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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10
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Rodríguez-Morales D, Tapia-McClung H, Robledo-Ospina LE, Rao D. Colour and motion affect a dune wasp's ability to detect its cryptic spider predators. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15442. [PMID: 34326422 PMCID: PMC8322161 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94926-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ambush predators depend on cryptic body colouration, stillness and a suitable hunting location to optimise the probability of prey capture. Detection of cryptic predators, such as crab spiders, by flower seeking wasps may also be hindered by wind induced movement of the flowers themselves. In a beach dune habitat, Microbembex nigrifrons wasps approaching flowerheads of the Palafoxia lindenii plant need to evaluate the flowers to avoid spider attack. Wasps may detect spiders through colour and movement cues. We tracked the flight trajectories of dune wasps as they approached occupied and unoccupied flowers under two movement conditions; when the flowers were still or moving. We simulated the appearance of the spider and the flower using psychophysical visual modelling techniques and related it to the decisions made by the wasp to land or avoid the flower. Wasps could discriminate spiders only at a very close range, and this was reflected in the shape of their trajectories. Wasps were more prone to making errors in threat assessment when the flowers are moving. Our results suggest that dune wasp predation risk is augmented by abiotic conditions such as wind and compromises their early detection capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dulce Rodríguez-Morales
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Horacio Tapia-McClung
- Instituto de Investigación en Inteligencia Artificial (IIIA), Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Luis E Robledo-Ospina
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec No. 351, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Dinesh Rao
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
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11
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Leonte MB, Leonhardt A, Borst A, Mauss AS. Aerial course stabilization is impaired in motion-blind flies. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271038. [PMID: 34297111 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Visual motion detection is among the best understood neuronal computations. As extensively investigated in tethered flies, visual motion signals are assumed to be crucial to detect and counteract involuntary course deviations. During free flight, however, course changes are also signalled by other sensory systems. Therefore, it is as yet unclear to what extent motion vision contributes to course control. To address this question, we genetically rendered flies motion-blind by blocking their primary motion-sensitive neurons and quantified their free-flight performance. We found that such flies have difficulty maintaining a straight flight trajectory, much like unimpaired flies in the dark. By unilateral wing clipping, we generated an asymmetry in propulsive force and tested the ability of flies to compensate for this perturbation. While wild-type flies showed a remarkable level of compensation, motion-blind animals exhibited pronounced circling behaviour. Our results therefore directly confirm that motion vision is necessary to fly straight under realistic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria-Bianca Leonte
- Circuits - Computation - Models, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18, Martinsried 82152, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig Maximilians University, Großhadernerstr. 2, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - Aljoscha Leonhardt
- Circuits - Computation - Models, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18, Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - Alexander Borst
- Circuits - Computation - Models, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18, Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - Alex S Mauss
- Circuits - Computation - Models, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18, Martinsried 82152, Germany
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12
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Doussot C, Bertrand OJN, Egelhaaf M. The Critical Role of Head Movements for Spatial Representation During Bumblebees Learning Flight. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 14:606590. [PMID: 33542681 PMCID: PMC7852487 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.606590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumblebees perform complex flight maneuvers around the barely visible entrance of their nest upon their first departures. During these flights bees learn visual information about the surroundings, possibly including its spatial layout. They rely on this information to return home. Depth information can be derived from the apparent motion of the scenery on the bees' retina. This motion is shaped by the animal's flight and orientation: Bees employ a saccadic flight and gaze strategy, where rapid turns of the head (saccades) alternate with flight segments of apparently constant gaze direction (intersaccades). When during intersaccades the gaze direction is kept relatively constant, the apparent motion contains information about the distance of the animal to environmental objects, and thus, in an egocentric reference frame. Alternatively, when the gaze direction rotates around a fixed point in space, the animal perceives the depth structure relative to this pivot point, i.e., in an allocentric reference frame. If the pivot point is at the nest-hole, the information is nest-centric. Here, we investigate in which reference frames bumblebees perceive depth information during their learning flights. By precisely tracking the head orientation, we found that half of the time, the head appears to pivot actively. However, only few of the corresponding pivot points are close to the nest entrance. Our results indicate that bumblebees perceive visual information in several reference frames when they learn about the surroundings of a behaviorally relevant location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Doussot
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
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13
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Odenthal L, Doussot C, Meyer S, Bertrand OJN. Analysing Head-Thorax Choreography During Free-Flights in Bumblebees. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 14:610029. [PMID: 33510626 PMCID: PMC7835495 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.610029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals coordinate their various body parts, sometimes in elaborate manners to swim, walk, climb, fly, and navigate their environment. The coordination of body parts is essential to behaviors such as, chasing, escaping, landing, and the extraction of relevant information. For example, by shaping the movement of the head and body in an active and controlled manner, flying insects structure their flights to facilitate the acquisition of distance information. They condense their turns into a short period of time (the saccade) interspaced by a relatively long translation (the intersaccade). However, due to technological limitations, the precise coordination of the head and thorax during insects' free-flight remains unclear. Here, we propose methods to analyse the orientation of the head and thorax of bumblebees Bombus terrestris, to segregate the trajectories of flying insects into saccades and intersaccades by using supervised machine learning (ML) techniques, and finally to analyse the coordination between head and thorax by using artificial neural networks (ANN). The segregation of flights into saccades and intersaccades by ML, based on the thorax angular velocities, decreased the misclassification by 12% compared to classically used methods. Our results demonstrate how machine learning techniques can be used to improve the analyses of insect flight structures and to learn about the complexity of head-body coordination. We anticipate our assay to be a starting point for more sophisticated experiments and analysis on freely flying insects. For example, the coordination of head and body movements during collision avoidance, chasing behavior, or negotiation of gaps could be investigated by monitoring the head and thorax orientation of freely flying insects within and across behavioral tasks, and in different species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Stefan Meyer
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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14
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Bumblebees perceive the spatial layout of their environment in relation to their body size and form to minimize inflight collisions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:31494-31499. [PMID: 33229535 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2016872117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals that move through complex habitats must frequently contend with obstacles in their path. Humans and other highly cognitive vertebrates avoid collisions by perceiving the relationship between the layout of their surroundings and the properties of their own body profile and action capacity. It is unknown whether insects, which have much smaller brains, possess such abilities. We used bumblebees, which vary widely in body size and regularly forage in dense vegetation, to investigate whether flying insects consider their own size when interacting with their surroundings. Bumblebees trained to fly in a tunnel were sporadically presented with an obstructing wall containing a gap that varied in width. Bees successfully flew through narrow gaps, even those that were much smaller than their wingspans, by first performing lateral scanning (side-to-side flights) to visually assess the aperture. Bees then reoriented their in-flight posture (i.e., yaw or heading angle) while passing through, minimizing their projected frontal width and mitigating collisions; in extreme cases, bees flew entirely sideways through the gap. Both the time that bees spent scanning during their approach and the extent to which they reoriented themselves to pass through the gap were determined not by the absolute size of the gap, but by the size of the gap relative to each bee's own wingspan. Our findings suggest that, similar to humans and other vertebrates, flying bumblebees perceive the affordance of their surroundings relative their body size and form to navigate safely through complex environments.
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Meyer HG, Klimeck D, Paskarbeit J, Rückert U, Egelhaaf M, Porrmann M, Schneider A. Resource-efficient bio-inspired visual processing on the hexapod walking robot HECTOR. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230620. [PMID: 32236111 PMCID: PMC7112198 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Emulating the highly resource-efficient processing of visual motion information in the brain of flying insects, a bio-inspired controller for collision avoidance and navigation was implemented on a novel, integrated System-on-Chip-based hardware module. The hardware module is used to control visually-guided navigation behavior of the stick insect-like hexapod robot HECTOR. By leveraging highly parallelized bio-inspired algorithms to extract nearness information from visual motion in dynamically reconfigurable logic, HECTOR is able to navigate to predefined goal positions without colliding with obstacles. The system drastically outperforms CPU- and graphics card-based implementations in terms of speed and resource efficiency, making it suitable to be also placed on fast moving robots, such as flying drones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanno Gerd Meyer
- Research Group Biomechatronics, CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Department of Neurobiology and CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Biomechatronics and Embedded Systems Group, Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Daniel Klimeck
- Cognitronics and Sensor Systems Group, CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Jan Paskarbeit
- Research Group Biomechatronics, CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Ulrich Rückert
- Cognitronics and Sensor Systems Group, CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Mario Porrmann
- Computer Engineering Group, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Axel Schneider
- Research Group Biomechatronics, CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Biomechatronics and Embedded Systems Group, Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld, Germany
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16
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Mauss AS, Borst A. Optic flow-based course control in insects. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 60:21-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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Corthals K, Moore S, Geurten BR. Strategies of locomotion composition. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 36:140-148. [PMID: 31622810 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This review aims to highlight the importance of saccades during locomotion as a strategy to reduce sensory information loss while the subject is moving. Acquiring sensory data from the environment during movement results in a temporal flow of information, as the sensory precept changes with the position of the observer. Accordingly, the movement pattern shapes the sensory flow. Therefore, the requirements of locomotion and sensation have to be balanced in the behaviour of the organism. Insect vision provides deep insight into the interplay between action and perception. Insects can shape their optic flow by reducing their rotational movements to fast and short saccades. This generates prolonged phases of translations which provide depth information. Extensive behavioural and physiological studies on insects show how shaping the optic flow facilitates the coding of motion vision. Indeed the saccadic strategy provides an elegant solution to optimise sensory flow. Complementary studies in other taxa reported similar locomotion strategies emphasising the crucial influence of sensory flow on locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Corthals
- Lund University, Functional Zoology, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Sharlen Moore
- Instituto de Fisiologıa Celular - Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Coyoacán, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico; Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Neurogenetics, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bart Rh Geurten
- Georg-August-University Göttingen, Department of Cellular Neuroscience, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
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Ability makes a thief: vision, learning, and swift escape help kleptoparasitic hover wasps not to fall prey to their spider hosts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2767-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Ravi S, Bertrand O, Siesenop T, Manz LS, Doussot C, Fisher A, Egelhaaf M. Gap perception in bumblebees. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:222/2/jeb184135. [PMID: 30683732 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.184135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A number of insects fly over long distances below the natural canopy, where the physical environment is highly cluttered consisting of obstacles of varying shape, size and texture. While navigating within such environments, animals need to perceive and disambiguate environmental features that might obstruct their flight. The most elemental aspect of aerial navigation through such environments is gap identification and 'passability' evaluation. We used bumblebees to seek insights into the mechanisms used for gap identification when confronted with an obstacle in their flight path and behavioral compensations employed to assess gap properties. Initially, bumblebee foragers were trained to fly though an unobstructed flight tunnel that led to a foraging chamber. After the bees were familiar with this situation, we placed a wall containing a gap that unexpectedly obstructed the flight path on a return trip to the hive. The flight trajectories of the bees as they approached the obstacle wall and traversed the gap were analyzed in order to evaluate their behavior as a function of the distance between the gap and a background wall that was placed behind the gap. Bumblebees initially decelerated when confronted with an unexpected obstacle. Deceleration was first noticed when the obstacle subtended around 35 deg on the retina but also depended on the properties of the gap. Subsequently, the bees gradually traded off their longitudinal velocity to lateral velocity and approached the gap with increasing lateral displacement and lateral velocity. Bumblebees shaped their flight trajectory depending on the salience of the gap, indicated in our case by the optic flow contrast between the region within the gap and on the obstacle, which decreased with decreasing distance between the gap and the background wall. As the optic flow contrast decreased, the bees spent an increasing amount of time moving laterally across the obstacles. During these repeated lateral maneuvers, the bees are probably assessing gap geometry and passability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Ravi
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany .,School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - Olivier Bertrand
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Tim Siesenop
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Lea-Sophie Manz
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.,Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Charlotte Doussot
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Alex Fisher
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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20
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Wolf H, Wittlinger M, Pfeffer SE. Two distance memories in desert ants-Modes of interaction. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204664. [PMID: 30304010 PMCID: PMC6179223 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigation plays an essential role for many animals leading a mobile mode of life, and for central place foragers in particular. One important prerequisite for navigation is the ability to estimate distances covered during locomotion. It has been shown that Cataglyphis desert ants, well-established model organisms in insect navigation, use two odometer mechanisms, namely, stride and optic flow integration. Although both mechanisms are well established, their mode of interaction to build one odometer output remains enigmatic. We tackle this problem by selectively covering the ventral eye parts in Cataglyphis fortis foragers, the eye regions responsible for optic flow input in odometry. Exclusion of optic flow cues was implemented during different sections of outbound and inbound travel. This demonstrated that the two odometers have separate distance memories that interact in determining homing distance. Possible interpretations posit that the two odometer memories (i) take on different relative weights according to context or (ii) compete in a winner-take-all mode. Explanatory values and implications of such interpretations are discussed. We are able to provide a rough quantitative assessment of odometer cue interaction. An understanding of the interaction of different odometer mechanisms appears valuable not only for animal navigation research but may inform discussions on sensor fusion in both behavioural contexts and potential technical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald Wolf
- Institute for Neurobiology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Matthias Wittlinger
- Institute of Biology I, Neurobiology and Behaviour, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Buatois A, Flumian C, Schultheiss P, Avarguès-Weber A, Giurfa M. Transfer of Visual Learning Between a Virtual and a Real Environment in Honey Bees: The Role of Active Vision. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:139. [PMID: 30057530 PMCID: PMC6053632 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
To study visual learning in honey bees, we developed a virtual reality (VR) system in which the movements of a tethered bee walking stationary on a spherical treadmill update the visual panorama presented in front of it (closed-loop conditions), thus creating an experience of immersion within a virtual environment. In parallel, we developed a small Y-maze with interchangeable end-boxes, which allowed replacing repeatedly a freely walking bee into the starting point of the maze for repeated decision recording. Using conditioning and transfer experiments between the VR setup and the Y-maze, we studied the extent to which movement freedom and active vision are crucial for learning a simple color discrimination. Approximately 57% of the bees learned the visual discrimination in both conditions. Transfer from VR to the maze improved significantly the bees’ performances: 75% of bees having chosen the CS+ continued doing so and 100% of bees having chosen the CS− reverted their choice in favor of the CS+. In contrast, no improvement was seen for these two groups of bees during the reciprocal transfer from the Y-maze to VR. In this case, bees exhibited inconsistent choices in the VR setup. The asymmetric transfer between contexts indicates that the information learned in each environment may be different despite the similar learning success. Moreover, it shows that reducing the possibility of active vision and movement freedom in the passage from the maze to the VR impairs the expression of visual learning while increasing them in the reciprocal transfer improves it. Our results underline the active nature of visual processing in bees and allow discussing the developments required for immersive VR experiences in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Buatois
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Clara Flumian
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Patrick Schultheiss
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
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22
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Namiki S, Dickinson MH, Wong AM, Korff W, Card GM. The functional organization of descending sensory-motor pathways in Drosophila. eLife 2018; 7:e34272. [PMID: 29943730 PMCID: PMC6019073 DOI: 10.7554/elife.34272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In most animals, the brain controls the body via a set of descending neurons (DNs) that traverse the neck. DN activity activates, maintains or modulates locomotion and other behaviors. Individual DNs have been well-studied in species from insects to primates, but little is known about overall connectivity patterns across the DN population. We systematically investigated DN anatomy in Drosophila melanogaster and created over 100 transgenic lines targeting individual cell types. We identified roughly half of all Drosophila DNs and comprehensively map connectivity between sensory and motor neuropils in the brain and nerve cord, respectively. We find the nerve cord is a layered system of neuropils reflecting the fly's capability for two largely independent means of locomotion -- walking and flight -- using distinct sets of appendages. Our results reveal the basic functional map of descending pathways in flies and provide tools for systematic interrogation of neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigehiro Namiki
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Michael H Dickinson
- Division of Biology and BioengineeringCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaUnited States
| | - Allan M Wong
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Wyatt Korff
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Gwyneth M Card
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
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23
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Spatial Encoding of Translational Optic Flow in Planar Scenes by Elementary Motion Detector Arrays. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5821. [PMID: 29643402 PMCID: PMC5895815 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24162-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Elementary Motion Detectors (EMD) are well-established models of visual motion estimation in insects. The response of EMDs are tuned to specific temporal and spatial frequencies of the input stimuli, which matches the behavioural response of insects to wide-field image rotation, called the optomotor response. However, other behaviours, such as speed and position control, cannot be fully accounted for by EMDs because these behaviours are largely unaffected by image properties and appear to be controlled by the ratio between the flight speed and the distance to an object, defined here as relative nearness. We present a method that resolves this inconsistency by extracting an unambiguous estimate of relative nearness from the output of an EMD array. Our method is suitable for estimation of relative nearness in planar scenes such as when flying above the ground or beside large flat objects. We demonstrate closed loop control of the lateral position and forward velocity of a simulated agent flying in a corridor. This finding may explain how insects can measure relative nearness and control their flight despite the frequency tuning of EMDs. Our method also provides engineers with a relative nearness estimation technique that benefits from the low computational cost of EMDs.
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24
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Lawson DA, Rands SA. The evolution of floral guides: using a genetic algorithm to investigate the evolution of floral cue arrangements. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David A Lawson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, UK
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25
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Abstract
Navigation is an essential skill for many animals, and understanding how animal use environmental information, particularly visual information, to navigate has a long history in both ethology and psychology. In birds, the dominant approach for investigating navigation at small-scales comes from comparative psychology, which emphasizes the cognitive representations underpinning spatial memory. The majority of this work is based in the laboratory and it is unclear whether this context itself affects the information that birds learn and use when they search for a location. Data from hummingbirds suggests that birds in the wild might use visual information in quite a different manner. To reconcile these differences, here we propose a new approach to avian navigation, inspired by the sensory-driven study of navigation in insects. Using methods devised for studying the navigation of insects, it is possible to quantify the visual information available to navigating birds, and then to determine how this information influences those birds' navigation decisions. Focusing on four areas that we consider characteristic of the insect navigation perspective, we discuss how this approach has shone light on the information insects use to navigate, and assess the prospects of taking a similar approach with birds. Although birds and insects differ in many ways, there is nothing in the insect-inspired approach of the kind we describe that means these methods need be restricted to insects. On the contrary, adopting such an approach could provide a fresh perspective on the well-studied question of how birds navigate through a variety of environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, UK
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26
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Lobecke A, Kern R, Egelhaaf M. Taking a goal-centred dynamic snapshot as a possibility for local homing in initially naïve bumblebees. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.168674. [PMID: 29150448 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.168674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
It is essential for central place foragers, such as bumblebees, to return reliably to their nest. Bumblebees, leaving their inconspicuous nest hole for the first time need to gather and learn sufficient information about their surroundings to allow them to return to their nest at the end of their trip, instead of just flying away to forage. Therefore, we assume an intrinsic learning programme that manifests itself in the flight structure immediately after leaving the nest for the first time. In this study, we recorded and analysed the first outbound flight of individually marked naïve bumblebees in an indoor environment. We found characteristic loop-like features in the flight pattern that appear to be necessary for the bees to acquire environmental information and might be relevant for finding the nest hole after a foraging trip. Despite common features in their spatio-temporal organisation, first departure flights from the nest are characterised by a high level of variability in their loop-like flight structure across animals. Changes in turn direction of body orientation, for example, are distributed evenly across the entire area used for the flights without any systematic relationship to the nest location. By considering the common flight motifs and this variability, we came to the hypothesis that a kind of dynamic snapshot is taken during the early phase of departure flights centred at the nest location. The quality of this snapshot is hypothesised to be 'tested' during the later phases of the departure flights concerning its usefulness for local homing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Lobecke
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Roland Kern
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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27
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Li J, Lindemann JP, Egelhaaf M. Local motion adaptation enhances the representation of spatial structure at EMD arrays. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005919. [PMID: 29281631 PMCID: PMC5760083 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal representation and extraction of spatial information are essential for behavioral control. For flying insects, a plausible way to gain spatial information is to exploit distance-dependent optic flow that is generated during translational self-motion. Optic flow is computed by arrays of local motion detectors retinotopically arranged in the second neuropile layer of the insect visual system. These motion detectors have adaptive response characteristics, i.e. their responses to motion with a constant or only slowly changing velocity decrease, while their sensitivity to rapid velocity changes is maintained or even increases. We analyzed by a modeling approach how motion adaptation affects signal representation at the output of arrays of motion detectors during simulated flight in artificial and natural 3D environments. We focused on translational flight, because spatial information is only contained in the optic flow induced by translational locomotion. Indeed, flies, bees and other insects segregate their flight into relatively long intersaccadic translational flight sections interspersed with brief and rapid saccadic turns, presumably to maximize periods of translation (80% of the flight). With a novel adaptive model of the insect visual motion pathway we could show that the motion detector responses to background structures of cluttered environments are largely attenuated as a consequence of motion adaptation, while responses to foreground objects stay constant or even increase. This conclusion even holds under the dynamic flight conditions of insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinglin Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Jens P. Lindemann
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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Abstract
The use of vision to coordinate behavior requires an efficient control design that stabilizes the world on the retina or directs the gaze towards salient features in the surroundings. With a level gaze, visual processing tasks are simplified and behaviorally relevant features from the visual environment can be extracted. No matter how simple or sophisticated the eye design, mechanisms have evolved across phyla to stabilize gaze. In this review, we describe functional similarities in eyes and gaze stabilization reflexes, emphasizing their fundamental role in transforming sensory information into motor commands that support postural and locomotor control. We then focus on gaze stabilization design in flying insects and detail some of the underlying principles. Systems analysis reveals that gaze stabilization often involves several sensory modalities, including vision itself, and makes use of feedback as well as feedforward signals. Independent of phylogenetic distance, the physical interaction between an animal and its natural environment - its available senses and how it moves - appears to shape the adaptation of all aspects of gaze stabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben J Hardcastle
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Holger G Krapp
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
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29
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Wang S, Borst A, Zaslavsky N, Tishby N, Segev I. Efficient encoding of motion is mediated by gap junctions in the fly visual system. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005846. [PMID: 29206224 PMCID: PMC5730180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the computational implications of specific synaptic connectivity patterns is a fundamental goal in neuroscience. In particular, the computational role of ubiquitous electrical synapses operating via gap junctions remains elusive. In the fly visual system, the cells in the vertical-system network, which play a key role in visual processing, primarily connect to each other via axonal gap junctions. This network therefore provides a unique opportunity to explore the functional role of gap junctions in sensory information processing. Our information theoretical analysis of a realistic VS network model shows that within 10 ms following the onset of the visual input, the presence of axonal gap junctions enables the VS system to efficiently encode the axis of rotation, θ, of the fly’s ego motion. This encoding efficiency, measured in bits, is near-optimal with respect to the physical limits of performance determined by the statistical structure of the visual input itself. The VS network is known to be connected to downstream pathways via a subset of triplets of the vertical system cells; we found that because of the axonal gap junctions, the efficiency of this subpopulation in encoding θ is superior to that of the whole vertical system network and is robust to a wide range of signal to noise ratios. We further demonstrate that this efficient encoding of motion by this subpopulation is necessary for the fly's visually guided behavior, such as banked turns in evasive maneuvers. Because gap junctions are formed among the axons of the vertical system cells, they only impact the system’s readout, while maintaining the dendritic input intact, suggesting that the computational principles implemented by neural circuitries may be much richer than previously appreciated based on point neuron models. Our study provides new insights as to how specific network connectivity leads to efficient encoding of sensory stimuli. Understanding sensory stimuli from the environment and deciding how best to respond to it behaviorally is essential for survival. What makes organisms efficient in encoding these sensory stimuli? This study provides a novel view on this unresolved issue using the visual system of the fly. We show that a specific synaptic connectivity manifested via gap junctions (GJs) among axons in the Vertical System (VS) network leads to particularly high encoding efficiency of the axis of rotation of the fly’s ego motion. Due to these GJs, triplets of VS neurons (the VS5-6-7 triplet), which connect to a downstream motor system, encode motion stimuli at an efficiency close to the physical limit; this efficient encoding is necessary for evasive maneuvers that are critical for the fly to escape predators. We then suggest why GJs in the VS network enable such high encoding efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siwei Wang
- Department of Neurobiology, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- * E-mail:
| | - Alexander Borst
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinstried, Munich, Germany
| | - Noga Zaslavsky
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Naftali Tishby
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Computer Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Idan Segev
- Department of Neurobiology, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinstried, Munich, Germany
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30
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Buatois A, Pichot C, Schultheiss P, Sandoz JC, Lazzari CR, Chittka L, Avarguès-Weber A, Giurfa M. Associative visual learning by tethered bees in a controlled visual environment. Sci Rep 2017; 7:12903. [PMID: 29018218 PMCID: PMC5635106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12631-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Free-flying honeybees exhibit remarkable cognitive capacities but the neural underpinnings of these capacities cannot be studied in flying insects. Conversely, immobilized bees are accessible to neurobiological investigation but display poor visual learning. To overcome this limitation, we aimed at establishing a controlled visual environment in which tethered bees walking on a spherical treadmill learn to discriminate visual stimuli video projected in front of them. Freely flying bees trained to walk into a miniature Y-maze displaying these stimuli in a dark environment learned the visual discrimination efficiently when one of them (CS+) was paired with sucrose and the other with quinine solution (CS−). Adapting this discrimination to the treadmill paradigm with a tethered, walking bee was successful as bees exhibited robust discrimination and preferred the CS+ to the CS− after training. As learning was better in the maze, movement freedom, active vision and behavioral context might be important for visual learning. The nature of the punishment associated with the CS− also affects learning as quinine and distilled water enhanced the proportion of learners. Thus, visual learning is amenable to a controlled environment in which tethered bees learn visual stimuli, a result that is important for future neurobiological studies in virtual reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Buatois
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Cécile Pichot
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Patrick Schultheiss
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Laboratory Evolution Genomes Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, Univ Paris-Sud, IRD, University Paris Saclay, F-91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Claudio R Lazzari
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261 CNRS, University François Rabelais of Tours, F-37200, Tours, France
| | - Lars Chittka
- Queen Mary University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Biological and Experimental Psychology, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 09, France.
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse cedex 09, France.
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Multispectral images of flowers reveal the adaptive significance of using long-wavelength-sensitive receptors for edge detection in bees. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:301-311. [PMID: 28314998 PMCID: PMC5389994 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1156-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Many pollinating insects acquire their entire nutrition from visiting flowers, and they must therefore be efficient both at detecting flowers and at recognizing familiar rewarding flower types. A crucial first step in recognition is the identification of edges and the segmentation of the visual field into areas that belong together. Honeybees and bumblebees acquire visual information through three types of photoreceptors; however, they only use a single receptor type—the one sensitive to longer wavelengths—for edge detection and movement detection. Here, we show that these long-wavelength receptors (peak sensitivity at ~544 nm, i.e., green) provide the most consistent signals in response to natural objects. Using our multispectral image database of flowering plants, we found that long-wavelength receptor responses had, depending on the specific scenario, up to four times higher signal-to-noise ratios than the short- and medium-wavelength receptors. The reliability of the long-wavelength receptors emerges from an intricate interaction between flower coloration and the bee’s visual system. This finding highlights the adaptive significance of bees using only long-wavelength receptors to locate flowers among leaves, before using information provided by all three receptors to distinguish the rewarding flower species through trichromatic color vision.
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Li J, Lindemann JP, Egelhaaf M. Peripheral Processing Facilitates Optic Flow-Based Depth Perception. Front Comput Neurosci 2016; 10:111. [PMID: 27818631 PMCID: PMC5073142 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Flying insects, such as flies or bees, rely on consistent information regarding the depth structure of the environment when performing their flight maneuvers in cluttered natural environments. These behaviors include avoiding collisions, approaching targets or spatial navigation. Insects are thought to obtain depth information visually from the retinal image displacements ("optic flow") during translational ego-motion. Optic flow in the insect visual system is processed by a mechanism that can be modeled by correlation-type elementary motion detectors (EMDs). However, it is still an open question how spatial information can be extracted reliably from the responses of the highly contrast- and pattern-dependent EMD responses, especially if the vast range of light intensities encountered in natural environments is taken into account. This question will be addressed here by systematically modeling the peripheral visual system of flies, including various adaptive mechanisms. Different model variants of the peripheral visual system were stimulated with image sequences that mimic the panoramic visual input during translational ego-motion in various natural environments, and the resulting peripheral signals were fed into an array of EMDs. We characterized the influence of each peripheral computational unit on the representation of spatial information in the EMD responses. Our model simulations reveal that information about the overall light level needs to be eliminated from the EMD input as is accomplished under light-adapted conditions in the insect peripheral visual system. The response characteristics of large monopolar cells (LMCs) resemble that of a band-pass filter, which reduces the contrast dependency of EMDs strongly, effectively enhancing the representation of the nearness of objects and, especially, of their contours. We furthermore show that local brightness adaptation of photoreceptors allows for spatial vision under a wide range of dynamic light conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinglin Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
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33
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Namiki S, Kanzaki R. The neurobiological basis of orientation in insects: insights from the silkmoth mating dance. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 15:16-26. [PMID: 27436728 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Revised: 02/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Counterturning is a common movement pattern during orientation behavior in insects. Once male moths sense sex pheromones and then lose the input, they demonstrate zigzag movements, alternating between left and right turns, to increase the probability to contact with the pheromone plume. We summarize the anatomy and function of the neural circuit involved in pheromone orientation in the silkmoth. A neural circuit, the lateral accessory lobe (LAL), serves a role as the circuit module for zigzag movements and controls this operation using a flip-flop neural switch. Circuit design of the LAL is well conserved across species. We hypothesize that this zigzag module is utilized in a wide range of insect behavior. We introduce two examples of the potential use: orientation flight and the waggle dance in bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigehiro Namiki
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan.
| | - Ryohei Kanzaki
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan.
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34
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Ros IG, Biewener AA. Optic flow stabilizes flight in ruby-throated hummingbirds. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:2443-8. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.128488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Flying birds rely on visual cues for retinal image stabilization by negating rotation-induced optic flow, the motion of the visual panorama across the retina, through corrective eye and head movements. In combination with vestibular and proprioceptive feedback, birds may also use visual cues to stabilize their body during flight. Here, we test whether artificially induced wide-field motion generated through projected visual patterns elicits maneuvers in body orientation and flight position, in addition to stabilizing vision. To test this hypothesis, we present hummingbirds flying freely within a 1.2 m cylindrical visual arena with a virtual surround rotated at different speeds about its vertical axis. The birds responded robustly to these visual perturbations by rotating their heads and bodies with the moving visual surround, and by adjusting their flight trajectories; following the surround. Thus, similar to insects, hummingbirds appear to use optic flow cues to control flight maneuvers in addition to stabilize their visual inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo G. Ros
- Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Concord Field Station, 100 Old Causeway Road, Bedford, MA 01730, USA
| | - Andrew A. Biewener
- Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Concord Field Station, 100 Old Causeway Road, Bedford, MA 01730, USA
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35
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Hempel de Ibarra N, Langridge KV, Vorobyev M. More than colour attraction: behavioural functions of flower patterns. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2015; 12:64-70. [PMID: 27064650 PMCID: PMC4804388 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Flower patterns are thought to influence foraging decisions of insect pollinators. However, the resolution of insect compound eyes is poor. Insects perceive flower patterns only from short distances when they initiate landings or search for reward on the flower. From further away flower displays jointly form larger-sized patterns within the visual scene that will guide the insect's flight. Chromatic and achromatic cues in such patterns may help insects to find, approach and learn rewarded locations in a flower patch, bringing them close enough to individual flowers. Flight trajectories and the spatial resolution of chromatic and achromatic vision in insects determine the effectiveness of floral displays, and both need to be considered in studies of plant-pollinator communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Hempel de Ibarra
- University of Exeter, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology, Exeter, UK
| | - Keri V Langridge
- University of Exeter, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology, Exeter, UK
| | - Misha Vorobyev
- University of Auckland, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Auckland, New Zealand
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36
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Riabinina O, de Ibarra NH, Philippides A, Collett TS. Head movements and the optic flow generated during the learning flights of bumblebees. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 217:2633-42. [PMID: 25079890 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.102897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Insects inform themselves about the 3D structure of their surroundings through motion parallax. During flight, they often simplify this task by minimising rotational image movement. Coordinated head and body movements generate rapid shifts of gaze separated by periods of almost zero rotational movement, during which the distance of objects from the insect can be estimated through pure translational optic flow. This saccadic strategy is less appropriate for assessing the distance between objects. Bees and wasps face this problem when learning the position of their nest-hole relative to objects close to it. They acquire the necessary information during specialised flights performed on leaving the nest. Here, we show that the bumblebee's saccadic strategy differs from other reported cases. In the fixations between saccades, a bumblebee's head continues to turn slowly, generating rotational flow. At specific points in learning flights these imperfect fixations generate a form of 'pivoting parallax', which is centred on the nest and enhances the visibility of features near the nest. Bumblebees may thus utilize an alternative form of motion parallax to that delivered by the standard 'saccade and fixate' strategy in which residual rotational flow plays a role in assessing the distances of objects from a focal point of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olena Riabinina
- Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Natalie Hempel de Ibarra
- Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Andrew Philippides
- Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Thomas S Collett
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
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37
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Bertrand OJN, Lindemann JP, Egelhaaf M. A Bio-inspired Collision Avoidance Model Based on Spatial Information Derived from Motion Detectors Leads to Common Routes. PLoS Comput Biol 2015; 11:e1004339. [PMID: 26583771 PMCID: PMC4652890 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoiding collisions is one of the most basic needs of any mobile agent, both biological and technical, when searching around or aiming toward a goal. We propose a model of collision avoidance inspired by behavioral experiments on insects and by properties of optic flow on a spherical eye experienced during translation, and test the interaction of this model with goal-driven behavior. Insects, such as flies and bees, actively separate the rotational and translational optic flow components via behavior, i.e. by employing a saccadic strategy of flight and gaze control. Optic flow experienced during translation, i.e. during intersaccadic phases, contains information on the depth-structure of the environment, but this information is entangled with that on self-motion. Here, we propose a simple model to extract the depth structure from translational optic flow by using local properties of a spherical eye. On this basis, a motion direction of the agent is computed that ensures collision avoidance. Flying insects are thought to measure optic flow by correlation-type elementary motion detectors. Their responses depend, in addition to velocity, on the texture and contrast of objects and, thus, do not measure the velocity of objects veridically. Therefore, we initially used geometrically determined optic flow as input to a collision avoidance algorithm to show that depth information inferred from optic flow is sufficient to account for collision avoidance under closed-loop conditions. Then, the collision avoidance algorithm was tested with bio-inspired correlation-type elementary motion detectors in its input. Even then, the algorithm led successfully to collision avoidance and, in addition, replicated the characteristics of collision avoidance behavior of insects. Finally, the collision avoidance algorithm was combined with a goal direction and tested in cluttered environments. The simulated agent then showed goal-directed behavior reminiscent of components of the navigation behavior of insects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Neurobiologie & CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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38
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Harischandra N, Krause AF, Dürr V. Stable phase-shift despite quasi-rhythmic movements: a CPG-driven dynamic model of active tactile exploration in an insect. Front Comput Neurosci 2015; 9:107. [PMID: 26347644 PMCID: PMC4543877 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2015.00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
An essential component of autonomous and flexible behavior in animals is active exploration of the environment, allowing for perception-guided planning and control of actions. An important sensory system involved is active touch. Here, we introduce a general modeling framework of Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) for movement generation in active tactile exploration behavior. The CPG consists of two network levels: (i) phase-coupled Hopf oscillators for rhythm generation, and (ii) pattern formation networks for capturing the frequency and phase characteristics of individual joint oscillations. The model captured the natural, quasi-rhythmic joint kinematics as observed in coordinated antennal movements of walking stick insects. Moreover, it successfully produced tactile exploration behavior on a three-dimensional skeletal model of the insect antennal system with physically realistic parameters. The effect of proprioceptor ablations could be simulated by changing the amplitude and offset parameters of the joint oscillators, only. As in the animal, the movement of both antennal joints was coupled with a stable phase difference, despite the quasi-rhythmicity of the joint angle time courses. We found that the phase-lead of the distal scape-pedicel (SP) joint relative to the proximal head-scape (HS) joint was essential for producing the natural tactile exploration behavior and, thus, for tactile efficiency. For realistic movement patterns, the phase-lead could vary within a limited range of 10–30° only. Tests with artificial movement patterns strongly suggest that this phase sensitivity is not a matter of the frequency composition of the natural movement pattern. Based on our modeling results, we propose that a constant phase difference is coded into the CPG of the antennal motor system and that proprioceptors are acting locally to regulate the joint movement amplitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nalin Harischandra
- Department of Biological Cybernetics, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - André F Krause
- Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Volker Dürr
- Department of Biological Cybernetics, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
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39
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Boeddeker N, Mertes M, Dittmar L, Egelhaaf M. Bumblebee Homing: The Fine Structure of Head Turning Movements. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135020. [PMID: 26352836 PMCID: PMC4564262 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2014] [Accepted: 07/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in flight direction in flying insects are largely due to roll, yaw and pitch rotations of their body. Head orientation is stabilized for most of the time by counter rotation. Here, we use high-speed video to analyse head- and body-movements of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris while approaching and departing from a food source located between three landmarks in an indoor flight-arena. The flight paths consist of almost straight flight segments that are interspersed with rapid turns. These short and fast yaw turns ("saccades") are usually accompanied by even faster head yaw turns that change gaze direction. Since a large part of image rotation is thereby reduced to brief instants of time, this behavioural pattern facilitates depth perception from visual motion parallax during the intersaccadic intervals. The detailed analysis of the fine structure of the bees' head turning movements shows that the time course of single head saccades is very stereotypical. We find a consistent relationship between the duration, peak velocity and amplitude of saccadic head movements, which in its main characteristics resembles the so-called "saccadic main sequence" in humans. The fact that bumblebee head saccades are highly stereotyped as in humans, may hint at a common principle, where fast and precise motor control is used to reliably reduce the time during which the retinal images moves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Boeddeker
- Department of Neurobiology & Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences & Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Marcel Mertes
- Department of Neurobiology & Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Laura Dittmar
- Department of Neurobiology & Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology & Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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40
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41
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Honkanen A, Takalo J, Heimonen K, Vähäsöyrinki M, Weckström M. Cockroach optomotor responses below single photon level. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 217:4262-8. [PMID: 25472974 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.112425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Reliable vision in dim light depends on the efficient capture of photons. Moreover, visually guided behaviour requires reliable signals from the photoreceptors to generate appropriate motor reactions. Here, we show that at behavioural low-light threshold, cockroach photoreceptors respond to moving gratings with single-photon absorption events known as 'quantum bumps' at or below the rate of 0.1 s(-1). By performing behavioural experiments and intracellular recordings from photoreceptors under identical stimulus conditions, we demonstrate that continuous modulation of the photoreceptor membrane potential is not necessary to elicit visually guided behaviour. The results indicate that in cockroach motion detection, massive temporal and spatial pooling takes place throughout the eye under dim conditions, involving currently unknown neural processing algorithms. The extremely high night-vision capability of the cockroach visual system provides a roadmap for bio-mimetic imaging design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Honkanen
- Department of Physics, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Jouni Takalo
- Department of Physics, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland
| | - Kyösti Heimonen
- Department of Physics, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland
| | | | - Matti Weckström
- Department of Physics, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland
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42
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Strübbe S, Stürzl W, Egelhaaf M. Insect-Inspired Self-Motion Estimation with Dense Flow Fields--An Adaptive Matched Filter Approach. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0128413. [PMID: 26308839 PMCID: PMC4550262 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The control of self-motion is a basic, but complex task for both technical and biological systems. Various algorithms have been proposed that allow the estimation of self-motion from the optic flow on the eyes. We show that two apparently very different approaches to solve this task, one technically and one biologically inspired, can be transformed into each other under certain conditions. One estimator of self-motion is based on a matched filter approach; it has been developed to describe the function of motion sensitive cells in the fly brain. The other estimator, the Koenderink and van Doorn (KvD) algorithm, was derived analytically with a technical background. If the distances to the objects in the environment can be assumed to be known, the two estimators are linear and equivalent, but are expressed in different mathematical forms. However, for most situations it is unrealistic to assume that the distances are known. Therefore, the depth structure of the environment needs to be determined in parallel to the self-motion parameters and leads to a non-linear problem. It is shown that the standard least mean square approach that is used by the KvD algorithm leads to a biased estimator. We derive a modification of this algorithm in order to remove the bias and demonstrate its improved performance by means of numerical simulations. For self-motion estimation it is beneficial to have a spherical visual field, similar to many flying insects. We show that in this case the representation of the depth structure of the environment derived from the optic flow can be simplified. Based on this result, we develop an adaptive matched filter approach for systems with a nearly spherical visual field. Then only eight parameters about the environment have to be memorized and updated during self-motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Strübbe
- Department of Neurobiology and CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Wolfgang Stürzl
- Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Wessling, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and CITEC, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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43
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Kress D, van Bokhorst E, Lentink D. How Lovebirds Maneuver Rapidly Using Super-Fast Head Saccades and Image Feature Stabilization. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129287. [PMID: 26107413 PMCID: PMC4481315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Diurnal flying animals such as birds depend primarily on vision to coordinate their flight path during goal-directed flight tasks. To extract the spatial structure of the surrounding environment, birds are thought to use retinal image motion (optical flow) that is primarily induced by motion of their head. It is unclear what gaze behaviors birds perform to support visuomotor control during rapid maneuvering flight in which they continuously switch between flight modes. To analyze this, we measured the gaze behavior of rapidly turning lovebirds in a goal-directed task: take-off and fly away from a perch, turn on a dime, and fly back and land on the same perch. High-speed flight recordings revealed that rapidly turning lovebirds perform a remarkable stereotypical gaze behavior with peak saccadic head turns up to 2700 degrees per second, as fast as insects, enabled by fast neck muscles. In between saccades, gaze orientation is held constant. By comparing saccade and wingbeat phase, we find that these super-fast saccades are coordinated with the downstroke when the lateral visual field is occluded by the wings. Lovebirds thus maximize visual perception by overlying behaviors that impair vision, which helps coordinate maneuvers. Before the turn, lovebirds keep a high contrast edge in their visual midline. Similarly, before landing, the lovebirds stabilize the center of the perch in their visual midline. The perch on which the birds land swings, like a branch in the wind, and we find that retinal size of the perch is the most parsimonious visual cue to initiate landing. Our observations show that rapidly maneuvering birds use precisely timed stereotypic gaze behaviors consisting of rapid head turns and frontal feature stabilization, which facilitates optical flow based flight control. Similar gaze behaviors have been reported for visually navigating humans. This finding can inspire more effective vision-based autopilots for drones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kress
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Evelien van Bokhorst
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America; Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, City University London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David Lentink
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America; Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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44
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Collett M. A desert ant's memory of recent visual experience and the control of route guidance. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:rspb.2014.0634. [PMID: 24870046 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects such as desert ants learn stereotyped visual routes between their nests and reliable food sites. Studies here reveal an important control element for ensuring that the route memories are used appropriately. They find that visual route memories can be disengaged, so that they do not provide guidance, even when all appropriate visual cues are present and when there are no competing guidance cues. Ants were trained along a simple route dominated by a single isolated landmark. If returning ants were caught just before entering the nest and replaced at the feeder, then they often interrupted the recapitulation of their homeward route with a period of apparent confusion during which the route memories were ignored. A series of experiments showed that this confusion occurred in response to the repetition of the route, and that the ants must therefore maintain some kind of a memory of their visual experience on the current trip home. A conceptual model of route guidance is offered to explain the results here. It proposes how the memory might act and suggests a general role for disengagement in regulating route guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Collett
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
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Ullrich TW, Kern R, Egelhaaf M. Influence of environmental information in natural scenes and the effects of motion adaptation on a fly motion-sensitive neuron during simulated flight. Biol Open 2014; 4:13-21. [PMID: 25505148 PMCID: PMC4295162 DOI: 10.1242/bio.20149449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Gaining information about the spatial layout of natural scenes is a challenging task that flies need to solve, especially when moving at high velocities. A group of motion sensitive cells in the lobula plate of flies is supposed to represent information about self-motion as well as the environment. Relevant environmental features might be the nearness of structures, influencing retinal velocity during translational self-motion, and the brightness contrast. We recorded the responses of the H1 cell, an individually identifiable lobula plate tangential cell, during stimulation with image sequences, simulating translational motion through natural sceneries with a variety of differing depth structures. A correlation was found between the average nearness of environmental structures within large parts of the cell's receptive field and its response across a variety of scenes, but no correlation was found between the brightness contrast of the stimuli and the cell response. As a consequence of motion adaptation resulting from repeated translation through the environment, the time-dependent response modulations induced by the spatial structure of the environment were increased relatively to the background activity of the cell. These results support the hypothesis that some lobula plate tangential cells do not only serve as sensors of self-motion, but also as a part of a neural system that processes information about the spatial layout of natural scenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Ullrich
- Department of Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Inspiration 1/Zehlendorfer Damm 201, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Roland Kern
- Department of Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Inspiration 1/Zehlendorfer Damm 201, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Inspiration 1/Zehlendorfer Damm 201, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany
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Abstract
Coupling between sensory neurons impacts their tuning properties and correlations in their responses. How such coupling affects sensory representations and ultimately behavior remains unclear. We investigated the role of neuronal coupling during visual processing using a realistic biophysical model of the vertical system (VS) cell network in the blow fly. These neurons are thought to encode the horizontal rotation axis during rapid free-flight maneuvers. Experimental findings suggest that neurons of the VS are strongly electrically coupled, and that several downstream neurons driving motor responses to ego-rotation receive inputs primarily from a small subset of VS cells. These downstream neurons must decode information about the axis of rotation from a partial readout of the VS population response. To investigate the role of coupling, we simulated the VS response to a variety of rotating visual scenes and computed optimal Bayesian estimates from the relevant subset of VS cells. Our analysis shows that coupling leads to near-optimal estimates from a subpopulation readout. In contrast, coupling between VS cells has no impact on the quality of encoding in the response of the full population. We conclude that coupling at one level of the fly visual system allows for near-optimal decoding from partial information at the subsequent, premotor level. Thus, electrical coupling may provide a general mechanism to achieve near-optimal information transfer from neuronal subpopulations across organisms and modalities.
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Egelhaaf M, Kern R, Lindemann JP. Motion as a source of environmental information: a fresh view on biological motion computation by insect brains. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:127. [PMID: 25389392 PMCID: PMC4211400 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 10/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their miniature brains insects, such as flies, bees and wasps, are able to navigate by highly erobatic flight maneuvers in cluttered environments. They rely on spatial information that is contained in the retinal motion patterns induced on the eyes while moving around ("optic flow") to accomplish their extraordinary performance. Thereby, they employ an active flight and gaze strategy that separates rapid saccade-like turns from translatory flight phases where the gaze direction is kept largely constant. This behavioral strategy facilitates the processing of environmental information, because information about the distance of the animal to objects in the environment is only contained in the optic flow generated by translatory motion. However, motion detectors as are widespread in biological systems do not represent veridically the velocity of the optic flow vectors, but also reflect textural information about the environment. This characteristic has often been regarded as a limitation of a biological motion detection mechanism. In contrast, we conclude from analyses challenging insect movement detectors with image flow as generated during translatory locomotion through cluttered natural environments that this mechanism represents the contours of nearby objects. Contrast borders are a main carrier of functionally relevant object information in artificial and natural sceneries. The motion detection system thus segregates in a computationally parsimonious way the environment into behaviorally relevant nearby objects and-in many behavioral contexts-less relevant distant structures. Hence, by making use of an active flight and gaze strategy, insects are capable of performing extraordinarily well even with a computationally simple motion detection mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
| | - Roland Kern
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
| | - Jens Peter Lindemann
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld, Germany
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48
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Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics. PLoS One 2014; 9:e110386. [PMID: 25340761 PMCID: PMC4207754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many flying insects, such as flies, wasps and bees, pursue a saccadic flight and gaze strategy. This behavioral strategy is thought to separate the translational and rotational components of self-motion and, thereby, to reduce the computational efforts to extract information about the environment from the retinal image flow. Because of the distinguishing dynamic features of this active flight and gaze strategy of insects, the present study analyzes systematically the spatiotemporal statistics of image sequences generated during saccades and intersaccadic intervals in cluttered natural environments. We show that, in general, rotational movements with saccade-like dynamics elicit fluctuations and overall changes in brightness, contrast and spatial frequency of up to two orders of magnitude larger than translational movements at velocities that are characteristic of insects. Distinct changes in image parameters during translations are only caused by nearby objects. Image analysis based on larger patches in the visual field reveals smaller fluctuations in brightness and spatial frequency composition compared to small patches. The temporal structure and extent of these changes in image parameters define the temporal constraints imposed on signal processing performed by the insect visual system under behavioral conditions in natural environments.
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Mertes M, Dittmar L, Egelhaaf M, Boeddeker N. Visual motion-sensitive neurons in the bumblebee brain convey information about landmarks during a navigational task. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:335. [PMID: 25309374 PMCID: PMC4173878 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2014] [Accepted: 09/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bees use visual memories to find the spatial location of previously learnt food sites. Characteristic learning flights help acquiring these memories at newly discovered foraging locations where landmarks—salient objects in the vicinity of the goal location—can play an important role in guiding the animal's homing behavior. Although behavioral experiments have shown that bees can use a variety of visual cues to distinguish objects as landmarks, the question of how landmark features are encoded by the visual system is still open. Recently, it could be shown that motion cues are sufficient to allow bees localizing their goal using landmarks that can hardly be discriminated from the background texture. Here, we tested the hypothesis that motion sensitive neurons in the bee's visual pathway provide information about such landmarks during a learning flight and might, thus, play a role for goal localization. We tracked learning flights of free-flying bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) in an arena with distinct visual landmarks, reconstructed the visual input during these flights, and replayed ego-perspective movies to tethered bumblebees while recording the activity of direction-selective wide-field neurons in their optic lobe. By comparing neuronal responses during a typical learning flight and targeted modifications of landmark properties in this movie we demonstrate that these objects are indeed represented in the bee's visual motion pathway. We find that object-induced responses vary little with object texture, which is in agreement with behavioral evidence. These neurons thus convey information about landmark properties that are useful for view-based homing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Mertes
- Department of Neurobiology, Center of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Laura Dittmar
- Department of Neurobiology, Center of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Egelhaaf
- Department of Neurobiology, Center of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Norbert Boeddeker
- Department of Neurobiology, Center of Excellence 'Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC), Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany
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Potter SM, El Hady A, Fetz EE. Closed-loop neuroscience and neuroengineering. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:115. [PMID: 25294988 PMCID: PMC4171982 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Steve M Potter
- Laboratory for Neuroengineering, Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ahmed El Hady
- Department of Non Linear Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization Goettingen, Germany
| | - Eberhard E Fetz
- Departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Bioengineering, Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA
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