Diversity of visual inputs to Kenyon cells of theDrosophilamushroom body

Abstract

The arthropod mushroom body is well-studied as an expansion layer that represents olfactory stimuli and links them to contingent events. However, 8% of mushroom body Kenyon cells inDrosophila melanogasterreceive predominantly visual input, and their tuning and function are poorly understood. Here, we use the FlyWire adult whole-brain connectome to identify inputs to visual Kenyon cells. The types of visual neurons we identify are similar across hemispheres and connectomes with certain inputs highly overrepresented. Many visual projection neurons presynaptic to Kenyon cells receive input from large swathes of visual space, while local visual interneurons, providing smaller fractions of input, receive more spatially restricted signals that may be tuned to specific features of the visual scene. Like olfactory Kenyon cells, visual Kenyon cells receive sparse inputs from different combinations of visual channels, including inputs from multiple optic lobe neuropils. The sets of inputs to individual visual Kenyon cells are consistent with random sampling of available inputs. These connectivity patterns suggest that visual coding in the mushroom body, like olfactory coding, is sparse, distributed, and combinatorial. However, the expansion coding properties appear different, with a specific repertoire of visual inputs projecting onto a relatively small number of visual Kenyon cells.

Hyperexcitation of Monoaminergic Neurons in the Drosophila Mushroom Body Disrupts Memory for Visually Oriented Rival-induced Prolonged Mating

“…The MB, which consists of three lobes-α, β, and γ-receives input from sensory neurons, including those involved in visual processing. This input enables the MB to integrate visual information with other sensory cues, forming the basis for visual memory (Li et al 2020;Ganguly et al 2023). The connection between the MB and the EB allows for the integration of visual information with other sensory cues, enabling the y to form and recall visual memories (Solanki et al 2015;Cheong et al 2020).…”