Integration of optic flow into the sky compass network in the brain of the desert locust

Frontiers in Neural Circuits

Neuroscience

Kathrin Pabst¹  Dominik M. Endres¹  Elena Carlomagno²  Uta Pegel²  Ronny Rosner²  Frederick Zittrell³  Uwe Homberg³ 

[1] Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University, Marburg, Germany;Department of Psychology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Department of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Department of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University, Marburg, Germany;

关键词: optic flow;    sky compass;    desert locust;    orientation;    computational model;    central complex;    head direction;    intracellular recordings;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fncir.2023.1111310

 received in 2022-11-29, accepted in 2023-03-30,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Flexible orientation through any environment requires a sense of current relative heading that is updated based on self-motion. Global external cues originating from the sky or the earth‘s magnetic field and local cues provide a reference frame for the sense of direction. Locally, optic flow may inform about turning maneuvers, travel speed and covered distance. The central complex in the insect brain is associated with orientation behavior and largely acts as a navigation center. Visual information from global celestial cues and local landmarks are integrated in the central complex to form an internal representation of current heading. However, it is less clear how optic flow is integrated into the central-complex network. We recorded intracellularly from neurons in the locust central complex while presenting lateral grating patterns that simulated translational and rotational motion to identify these sites of integration. Certain types of central-complex neurons were sensitive to optic-flow stimulation independent of the type and direction of simulated motion. Columnar neurons innervating the noduli, paired central-complex substructures, were tuned to the direction of simulated horizontal turns. Modeling the connectivity of these neurons with a system of proposed compass neurons can account for rotation-direction specific shifts in the activity profile in the central complex corresponding to turn direction. Our model is similar but not identical to the mechanisms proposed for angular velocity integration in the navigation compass of the fly Drosophila.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Zittrell, Pabst, Carlomagno, Rosner, Pegel, Endres and Homberg.