Sensorimotor structure of Drosophila larva phototaxis

Kane, Elizabeth A.; Gershow, Marc; Afonso, Bruno; Larderet, Ivan; Klein, Mason; Carter, Ashley R.; Bivort, Benjamin L. de; Sprecher, Simon G.; Samuel, Aravinthan D. T.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1215295110

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Journal article

Sensorimotor structure of Drosophila larva phototaxis

Kane, Elizabeth A. Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA - Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Gershow, Marc Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Afonso, Bruno Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, USA
Larderet, Ivan Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Klein, Mason Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Carter, Ashley R. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Bivort, Benjamin L. de Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - The Rowland Institute at Harvard, Cambridge, USA - Departments of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Sprecher, Simon G. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, USA - Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Samuel, Aravinthan D. T. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

10.01.2013

Published in:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 2013, vol. 110, no. 40, p. E3868–E3877

English The avoidance of light by fly larvae is a classic paradigm for sensorimotor behavior. Here, we use behavioral assays and video microscopy to quantify the sensorimotor structure of phototaxis using the Drosophila larva. Larval locomotion is composed of sequences of runs (periods of forward movement) that are interrupted by abrupt turns, during which the larva pauses and sweeps its head back and forth, probing local light information to determine the direction of the successive run. All phototactic responses are mediated by the same set of sensorimotor transformations that require temporal processing of sensory inputs. Through functional imaging and genetic inactivation of specific neurons downstream of the sensory periphery, we have begun to map these sensorimotor circuits into the larval central brain. We find that specific sensorimotor pathways that govern distinct light-evoked responses begin to segregate at the first relay after the photosensory neurons.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

Language