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Brain-body interactions configure visuomotor circuits for flexible control of walking in Drosophila| title | Brain-body interactions configure visuomotor circuits for flexible control of walking in Drosophila |
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| start_date | 2023/03/30 |
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| schedule | 13h30 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | salle de Conférence IV (E224) |
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| summary | High performance movement control depends on a continuous, flexible mapping between activity in sensory systems and movement parameters, which is based on a comparison of short-term postural dynamics and the longer-term goals of an animal. Our recent work in adult Drosophila melanogaster has demonstrated that circuits processing visual feedback are key in orchestrating this mapping. Yet how these circuits are configured to control walking in a dynamic, context-specific manner has been poorly understood. Here, I will discuss our efforts to answer this question in the context of a naturalistic exploratory behavior in Drosophila. Quantitative analysis of movement across the body showed that flies exploring a mildly aversive environment structure their behavior to maximize gaze control. Visual feedback supports gaze stabilization by tuning down posture reflexes, rendering walking less mechanical stable specifically when the fly aims to maintain gaze fixed. By combining anatomical and physiological analysis of networks involved in processing visual feedback and steering, we found distinct classes of inhibitory neurons constituting central hubs for multimodal integration. Using electron microscopy (EM) datasets and simultaneous recordings of neural activity and behavior demonstrated that these inhibitory neurons receive inputs from visual and premotor regions of the brain, from the fly’s ventral nerve cord (VNC), the insect analogue of the vertebrate spinal cord, and process behavioral relevant optic flow in the context of forward movement. Activity in ascending neurons from the VNC represents either the ongoing head/body rotations, or a quasi-steady state of the forward velocity of the walking fly. This forward velocity signal constitutes a motor-context that recruits specific classes of visual cells for steering control. Together, these findings support a model in which bidirectional interactions between integrative visuomotor circuits in the brain and ascending information from the body likely orchestrate the interplay between mechanical stability and movement flexibility in a manner that is dynamic, goal-dependent and motor-context specific. |
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| responsibles | Zugaro, Ostojic, Hakim |
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Workflow history| from state (1) | to state | comment | date |
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| submitted | published | | 2023/03/27 11:40 UTC |
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