Olfactory stimuli and moonwalker SEZ neurons can drive backward locomotion in Drosophila

Israel, Shai; Rozenfeld, Eyal; Weber, Denise; Huetteroth, Wolf; Parnas, Moshe

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.035

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…In line with having a role in behavioral modulation, studies in crickets and locusts have demonstrated that changes in the firing rates of some DNs ( Böhm and Schildberger, 1992 ; Zorović and Hedwig, 2011 ) correlate with walking speed and turning ( Heinrich, 2002 ). Alternatively, DN subpopulations may represent parallel pathways that are recruited depending on sensory context ( Israel et al, 2022 ). For example, different groups of DNs may be differentially engaged during odor-evoked versus spontaneously-generated walking ( Heinrich, 2002 ; Kien, 1990 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Aymanns¹,

Chen²,

Ramdya³

2022

eLife

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“…MDN controls backward walking when the fly encounters an impassable barrier [ 46 ]. A recent study found that olfactory stimuli induced backward locomotion was also regulated by this MDN neuron [ 47 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Organization of Descending Neurons in the Brain of Adult Helicoverpa armigera (Insecta)

Liu

Yang

Sun

et al. 2023

Insects

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The descending neurons (DNs) of insects connect the brain and thoracic ganglia and play a key role in controlling insect behaviors. Here, a comprehensive investigation of the distribution and organization of the DNs in the brain of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was made by using backfilling from the neck connective combined with immunostaining techniques. The maximum number of DN somata labeled in H. armigera was about 980 in males and 840 in females, indicating a sexual difference in DNs. All somata of DNs in H. armigera were classified into six different clusters, and the cluster of DNd was only found in males. The processes of stained neurons in H. armigera were mainly found in the ventral central brain, including in the posterior slope, ventral lateral protocerebrum, lateral accessory lobe, antennal mechanosensory and motor center, gnathal ganglion and other small periesophageal neuropils. These results indicate that the posterior ventral part of the brain is vital for regulating locomotion in insects. These findings provide a detailed description of DNs in the brain that could contribute to investigations on the neural mechanism of moth behaviors.

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“…To further evaluate the utility of the flow chamber and gradient calibration for the study of small animal navigation, we investigated how larval Drosophila navigate butanone. Although butanone is not as commonly used as a stimulus with Drosophila as with C. elegans, butanone is known to be attractive to larval flies (Dubin et al, 1995(Dubin et al, , 1998 and has been variously reported to be attractive (Park et al, 2002) and aversive (Israel et al, 2022;Lerner et al, 2020) to adult flies. To investigate the larva's navigational strategy in a butanone gradient, we created a "cone" shaped butanone gradient over the agar substrate using the pre-equilibration protocol, as before, and we confirmed the presence and stability of the gradient by continuously measuring the spatial distribution of butanone upstream and downstream of the agar arena.…”

Section: Butanone Chemotaxis In Drosophila Larvaementioning

confidence: 99%

Continuous odor profile monitoring to study olfactory navigation in small animals

Chen¹,

Wu²,

Gershow³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Olfactory navigation is observed across species and plays a crucial role in locating resources for survival. In the laboratory, understanding the behavioral strategies and neural circuits underlying odor-taxis requires a detailed understanding of the animal's sensory environment. For small model organisms like C. elegans and larval D. melanogaster, controlling and measuring the odor environment experienced by the animal can be challenging, especially for airborne odors, which are subject to subtle effects from airflow, temperature variation, and from the odor's adhesion, adsorption or reemission. Here we present a method to flexibly control and precisely measure airborne odor concentration in an arena with agar while imaging animal behavior. Crucially and unlike previous methods, our method allows continuous monitoring of the odor profile during behavior. We construct stationary chemical landscapes in an odor flow chamber through spatially patterned odorized air. The odor concentration is measured with a spatially distributed array of digital gas sensors. Careful placement of the sensors allows the odor concentration across the arena to be accurately inferred and continuously monitored at all points in time. We use this approach to measure the precise odor concentration that each animal experiences as it undergoes chemotaxis behavior and report chemotaxis strategies for C. elegans and D. melanogaster larvae populations under different spatial odor landscapes.

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Olfactory stimuli and moonwalker SEZ neurons can drive backward locomotion in Drosophila

Abstract: Highlights d MooSEZs elicit backward locomotion via MDN-dependent and MDN-independent pathways d MooSEZs are connected to MDNs and other descending neurons d MooSEZs and MDNs both respond to olfactory input d MooSEZs can trigger rotational backward locomotion

Cited by 17 publications

References 103 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

Distribution and Organization of Descending Neurons in the Brain of Adult Helicoverpa armigera (Insecta)

Continuous odor profile monitoring to study olfactory navigation in small animals

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