Generation of stable heading representations in diverse visual scenes

Article

关键词: DIRECTION SIGNAL;    CENTRAL COMPLEX;    DROSOPHILA;    ORIENTATION;    MOTION;    CUES;    INTEGRATION;    DYNAMICS;    COMPASS;    MEMORY;   

DOI  :  10.1038/s41586-019-1767-1

来源: SCIE

【 摘 要 】

Many animals rely on an internal heading representation when navigating in varied environments(1-10). How this representation is linked to the sensory cues that define different surroundings is unclear. In the fly brain, heading is represented by 'compass' neurons that innervate a ring-shaped structure known as the ellipsoid body(3,11,12). Each compass neuron receives inputs from 'ring' neuronsthat are selective for particular visual features(13-16); this combination provides an ideal substrate for the extraction of directional information from a visual scene. Here we combine two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetics in tethered flying flies with circuit modelling, and show how the correlated activity of compass and visual neurons drives plasticity(17-)(22), which flexibly transformstwo-dimensional visual cues into a stable heading representation. We also describe how this plasticity enables the fly to convert a partial heading representation, established from orienting within part of a novel setting, into a complete heading representation. Our results provide mechanistic insight into the memory-related computations that are essential for flexible navigation in varied surroundings.

【 授权许可】

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