Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish

Chen, Alex B.; Deb, Diptodip; Bahl, Armin; Engert, Florian

doi:10.1242/jeb.238386

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…2 A,B). It is well-established that larval zebrafish show a strong positive phototaxis response to a focused spot of white light in a dark environment 42 – 44 . We found that each wavelength within our distilled testing group (415 nm, 530 nm, 660 nm, and cold white light) elicited positive phototaxis (Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test between time in ROI during baseline versus phototaxis conditions: white light p < 0.0001, 415 nm p < 0.0001, 530 nm p < 0.0001, 660 nm p < 0.0001) (Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light wavelength modulates search behavior performance in zebrafish

Waalkes,

Leathery,

Peck

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Visual systems have evolved to discriminate between different wavelengths of light. The ability to perceive color, or specific light wavelengths, is important as color conveys crucial information about both biotic and abiotic features in the environment. Indeed, different wavelengths of light can drive distinct patterns of activity in the vertebrate brain, yet what remains incompletely understood is whether distinct wavelengths can invoke etiologically relevant behavioral changes. To address how specific wavelengths in the visible spectrum modulate behavioral performance, we use larval zebrafish and a stereotypic light-search behavior. Prior work has shown that the cessation of light triggers a transitional light-search behavior, which we use to interrogate wavelength-dependent behavioral modulation. Using 8 narrow spectrum light sources in the visible range, we demonstrate that all wavelengths induce motor parameters consistent with search behavior, yet the magnitude of search behavior is spectrum sensitive and the underlying motor parameters are modulated in distinct patterns across short, medium, and long wavelengths. However, our data also establishes that not all motor features of search are impacted by wavelength. To define how wavelength modulates search performance, we performed additional assays with alternative wavelengths, dual wavelengths, and variable intensity. Last, we also tested blind larvae to resolve which components of wavelength dependent behavioral changes potentially include signaling from non-retinal photoreception. These findings have important implications as organisms can be exposed to varying wavelengths in laboratory and natural settings and therefore impose unique behavioral outputs.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light wavelength modulates search behavior performance in zebrafish

Waalkes,

Leathery,

Peck

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, our system makes it possible to explicitly investigate navigational strategies exclusively using spatial contrast cues. This has already been achieved in zebrafish larvae (Chen et al, 2021;Huang et al, 2013) by always locking a sharp contrast edge to the center of the animal's head. Testing such stimuli in Drosophila larvae will, however, require more precise real-time position, orientation and posture measurements, improvements that can be added to our setup.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Navigational strategies underlying temporal phototaxis in Drosophila larvae

Zhu

Herrera

Vogt

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Navigating across light gradients is essential for survival for many animals. However, we still have a poor understanding of the algorithms that underlie such behaviors. Here we develop a novel closed-loop phototaxis assay for Drosophila larvae in which light intensity is always spatially uniform but updates depending on the location of the animal in the arena. Even though larvae can only rely on temporal cues during runs, we find that they are capable of finding preferred areas of low light intensity. Further detailed analysis of their behavior reveals that larvae turn more frequently and that heading angle changes increase when they experience brightness increments over extended periods of time. We suggest that temporal integration of brightness change during runs is an important – and so far largely unexplored – element of phototaxis.

show abstract

“…Yet, the behavioral strategy executed by the fish in our study is more complex than a simple reactive strategy that translates retinal pixels and current behavioral state into resultant behaviors (e.g. optomotor response [1], phototaxis [9]); nevertheless, it may still fall short of the bar required for assigning ”cognition” to the fish. How would future experiments disambiguate a complex bottom-up strategy from a structured cognitive model of objects in the world?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Covert attention to obstacles biases zebrafish escape direction

Zwaka

McGinnis

Pflitsch

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To study the evolutionary origins of object perception, we investigated whether a primitive vertebrate, the larval zebrafish, is sensitive to the presence of obstacles. The zebrafish, which has become a useful model to study brain-wide circuit dynamics, executes fast escape swims when in danger of predation. We posited that collisions with solid objects during escape would be maladaptive to the zebrafish, and therefore the direction of escape swims should be informed by the locations of barriers. To answer this question, we developed a novel closed-loop high-speed imaging rig outfitted with barriers of various qualities. Using this system, we show that when larval zebrafish escape in response to a non-directional vibrational stimulus, they use visual scene information to avoid collisions with obstacles. Our study demonstrates that fish compute absolute distance to obstacles, as distant barriers outside of collision range elicit less bias than nearby collidable barriers that occupy the same visual field. The computation of barrier features is covert, as the fish’s reaction to barriers during routine swimming does not predict that they will avoid barriers when escaping. Finally, through two-photon laser ablations, we reveal a novel excitatory input from the visual system to Mauthner cells in the brainstem escape network that is responsible for escape direction bias. We propose that zebrafish construct “object solidity” via an integrative visual computation that is more complex than retinal occupancy alone, suggesting a primitive understanding of object features and possibly the origins of a structured model of the physical world.

show abstract

Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish

Cited by 9 publications

References 44 publications

Light wavelength modulates search behavior performance in zebrafish

Light wavelength modulates search behavior performance in zebrafish

Navigational strategies underlying temporal phototaxis in Drosophila larvae

Covert attention to obstacles biases zebrafish escape direction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About