Descending neurons coordinate anterior grooming behavior in Drosophila

Guo, Li; Zhang, Neil; Simpson, Jeffrey H.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.055

Cited by 35 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The axons of DNs could be seen passing through the cervical connective, targeting motor circuits within the VNC ( Figure 1g ). Thus, although our driver line lacks expression in the subesophageal zone (SEZ) ( Figure 1—figure supplement 1c )—a brain region known to house at least 41 DNs ( Sterne et al, 2021 ; Namiki et al, 2018 ) some of which can drive grooming ( Guo et al, 2022 ) (DNg11, DNg12)—we could still capture the activities of a large population of DNs. Second, by performing coronal (x–z) two-photon imaging of the thoracic cervical connective ( Chen et al, 2018 ), we could exclusively record DN axons ( Figure 1h ) in tethered animals while they behaved on a spherical treadmill.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many fewer neurons encode head grooming as opposed to walking. Because our transgenic strain does not drive expression in SEZ neurons we could not record several DNs whose activation has been shown to be sufficient to drive antennal grooming (aDN), front leg rubbing (DNg11), or both head grooming and front leg rubbing (DNg12) ( Guo et al, 2022 ). Thus, we expect that with the addition of these SEZ DNs the apparent dichotomy that many neurons encode walking and fewer encode grooming may become less pronounced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drosophila are thought to have between ~350 ( Namiki et al, 2018 ) and ~500 ( Hsu and Bhandawat, 2016 ) pairs of DNs. Sparse sets of these DNs can be experimentally targeted using transgenic driver lines ( Namiki et al, 2018 ) for functional recordings ( von Reyn et al, 2014 ; Schnell et al, 2017 ; Chen et al, 2018 ; Ache et al, 2019b ; Namiki et al, 2022 ) or physiological perturbations ( Cande, 2018 ; Zacarias et al, 2018 ; Ache et al, 2019a ; Namiki et al, 2022 ; Guo et al, 2022 ). The functional properties of DNs can be understood within a circuit context using emerging connectomics datasets ( Zheng et al, 2018 ; Phelps et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Aymanns¹,

Chen²,

Ramdya³

2022

eLife

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Deciphering how the brain regulates motor circuits to control complex behaviors is an important, long-standing challenge in neuroscience. In the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, this is coordinated by a population of ~ 1100 descending neurons (DNs). Activating only a few DNs is known to be sufficient to drive complex behaviors like walking and grooming. However, what additional role the larger population of DNs plays during natural behaviors remains largely unknown. For example, they may modulate core behavioral commands or comprise parallel pathways that are engaged depending on sensory context. We evaluated these possibilities by recording populations of nearly 100 DNs in individual tethered flies while they generated limb-dependent behaviors, including walking and grooming. We found that the largest fraction of recorded DNs encode walking while fewer are active during head grooming and resting. A large fraction of walk-encoding DNs encode turning and far fewer weakly encode speed. Although odor context does not determine which behavior-encoding DNs are recruited, a few DNs encode odors rather than behaviors. Lastly, we illustrate how one can identify individual neurons from DN population recordings by using their spatial, functional, and morphological properties. These results set the stage for a comprehensive, population-level understanding of how the brain’s descending signals regulate complex motor actions.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Aymanns¹,

Chen²,

Ramdya³

2022

eLife

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show abstract

“…Many fewer neurons encode head grooming as opposed to walking. Because our transgenic strain does not drive expression in SEZ neurons, we could not record several DNs whose activation has been shown to be sufficient to drive antennal grooming (aDN), front leg rubbing (DNg11), or both head grooming and front leg rubbing (DNg12) [20]. Thus, we expect that with the addition of these SEZ DNs the apparent dichotomy that many neurons encode walking and fewer encode grooming may become less pronounced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The axons of DNs could be seen passing through the cervical connective, targeting motor circuits within the ventral nerve cord (VNC) (Figure 1g). Thus, although our driver line lacks expression in the subesophageal zone (SEZ) (Figure S1c)-a brain region known to house at least 41 DNs [10,36] some of which can drive grooming [20](DNg11, DNg12)we could still capture the activities of a large population of DNs. Second, by performing coronal (x-z) two-photon imaging of the thoracic cervical connective [14], we could exclusively record DN axons (Figure 1h) in tethered animals that were behaving on a spherical treadmill.…”

Section: Recording Descending Neuron Population Activity In Tethered ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Aymanns

Chen

Ramdya

2022

Preprint

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Deciphering how the brain regulates motor circuits to control complex behaviors is an important, long-standing challenge in neuroscience. In the fly, Drosophila melanogaster, this is accomplished by a population of ∼ 1100 descending neurons (DNs). Activating only a few DNs is known to be sufficient to drive complex behaviors like walking and grooming. However, what additional role the larger population of DNs plays during natural behaviors remains largely unknown. For example, they may modulate core behavioral commands, or comprise parallel pathways that are engaged depending on sensory context. We evaluated these possibilities by recording populations of nearly 100 DNs in individual tethered flies while they generated limb-dependent behaviors. We found that the largest fraction of recorded DNs encode walking while fewer are active during head grooming and resting. A large fraction of walk-encoding DNs encode turning and far fewer weakly encode speed. Although odor context does not determine which behavior-encoding DNs are recruited, a few DNs encode odors rather than behaviors. Lastly, we illustrate how one can identify individual neurons from DN population recordings by analyzing their spatial, functional, and morphological properties. These results set the stage for a comprehensive, population-level understanding of how the brain’s descending signals regulate complex motor behaviors.

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Altered Grooming Cycles in Transgenic Drosophila

Ringo,

Segal

2024

Behav Genet

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Descending neurons coordinate anterior grooming behavior in Drosophila

Cited by 35 publications

References 64 publications

Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Descending neuron population dynamics during odor-evoked and spontaneous limb-dependent behaviors

Altered Grooming Cycles in Transgenic Drosophila

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