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12 results for “descending neuron”
The impulse response of optic flow sensitive descending neurons to roll m-sequences
<p>When animals move through the world, their own movements generate widefield optic flow across their eyes. In insects, such widefield motion is encoded by optic lobe neurons. These lobula plate tangential cells (LPTCs) synapse with optic flow sensitive descending neurons, which in turn project to areas that control neck, wing and leg movements. As the descending neurons play a role in sensori-motor transformation, it is important to understand their spatio-temporal response properties. Recent work shows that a relatively fast and efficient way to quantify such response properties is to use m-sequences or other white noise techniques. We therefore here used m-sequences to quantify the impulse responses of optic flow sensitive descending neurons in male <i>Eristalis tenax </i>hoverflies. We focused on roll impulse responses as hoverflies perform exquisite head roll stabilizing reflexes, and the descending neurons respond particularly well to roll. We found that the roll impulse responses were fast, peaking after 16.5-18.0 ms. This is similar to the impulse response time-to-peak (18.3 ms) to widefield horizontal motion recorded in hoverfly LPTCs. We found that the roll impulse response amplitude scaled with the size of the stimulus impulse, and that its shape could be affected by the addition of constant velocity roll or lift. For example, the roll impulse response became faster and stronger with the addition of excitatory stimuli, and vice versa. We also found that the roll impulse response had a long return to baseline, which was significantly and substantially reduced by the addition of either roll or lift.</p>
Dual receptive fields underlying target and wide-field motion sensitivity in looming sensitive descending neurons
<p><span>Many animals use motion vision information to control dynamic behaviors. Predatory animals, for example, show an exquisite ability to detect rapidly moving prey followed by pursuit and capture. Such target detection is not only used by predators but can also play an important role in conspecific interactions. Male hoverflies (<em>Eristalis</em> <em>tenax</em>), for example, vigorously defend their territories against conspecific intruders. Visual target detection is believed to be subserved by specialized target-tuned neurons that are found in a range of species, including cats, zebrafish, and insects. However, how these target-tuned neurons respond to actual pursuit trajectories is currently not well understood. To redress this, we recorded extracellularly from target selective descending neurons (TSDNs) in male <em>Eristalis</em> <em>tenax</em> hoverflies. We show that the neurons have dorso-frontal receptive fields, with a preferred direction up and away from the visual midline. We next reconstructed visual flow-fields as experienced during pursuits of artificial targets (black beads). We recorded TSDN responses to six reconstructed pursuits and found that each neuron responded consistently at remarkably specific time points, but that these time points differed between neurons. We compared the observed spike probability with the spike probability predicted from each neuron's receptive field and size tuning and found a correlation coefficient of 0.35. Interestingly, however, the overall response rate was low, with individual neurons responding to only a small part of each reconstructed pursuit. In contrast, the TSDN population responded to a substantially larger proportion of the pursuits (up to a median of 23%). This large variation between neurons could be useful if different neurons control different parts of the behavioral output.</span></p>
Hoverfly (Eristalis tenax) descending neurons respond to pursuits of artificial targets
<p><span>Many animals use motion vision information to control dynamic behaviors. Predatory animals, for example, show an exquisite ability to detect rapidly moving prey followed by pursuit and capture. Such target detection is not only used by predators but can also play an important role in conspecific interactions. Male hoverflies (<em>Eristalis</em> <em>tenax</em>), for example, vigorously defend their territories against conspecific intruders. Visual target detection is believed to be subserved by specialized target-tuned neurons that are found in a range of species, including vertebrates and arthropods. However, how these target-tuned neurons respond to actual pursuit trajectories is currently not well understood. To redress this, we recorded extracellularly from target selective descending neurons (TSDNs) in male <em>Eristalis</em> <em>tenax</em> hoverflies. We show that the neurons have dorso-frontal receptive fields, with a preferred direction up and away from the visual midline, with a clear division into a TSDN<sub>Left</sub> and a TSDN<sub>Right</sub> cluster. We next reconstructed visual flow-fields as experienced during pursuits of artificial targets (black beads). We recorded TSDN responses to six reconstructed pursuits and found that each neuron responded consistently at remarkably specific time points, but that these time points differed between neurons. We found that the observed spike probability was correlated with the spike probability predicted from each neuron's receptive field and size tuning. Interestingly, however, the overall response rate was low, with individual neurons responding to only a small part of each reconstructed pursuit. In contrast, the TSDN<sub>Left</sub> and TSDN<sub>Right</sub> populations responded to substantially larger proportions of the pursuits, but with lower probability. This large variation between neurons could be useful if different neurons control different parts of the behavioral output.</span></p>
Dual receptive fields underlying target and wide-field motion sensitivity in looming sensitive descending neurons
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The impulse response of optic flow sensitive descending neurons to roll m-sequences
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Descending neurons of the hoverfly respond to pursuits of artificial targets
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Neurons in the caudal ventral lateral medulla mediate descending pain control
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Supraspinal brain regions modify nociceptive signals in response to various stressors including stimuli which elevate pain thresholds. The medulla oblongata has previously been implicated in this type of pain control, but the neurons and molecular circuits involved have remained elusive. Here we identify catecholaminergic neurons in the caudal ventrolateral medulla that are activated by noxious stimuli in mice. Upon activation, these neurons produce bilateral feed-forward inhibition that attenuates nociceptive responses through a pathway involving the locus coeruleus and noradrenalin in the spinal cord. This pathway is sufficient to attenuate injury-induced heat allodynia and is required for counter-stimulus induced analgesia to noxious heat. Our findings define a component of the pain modulatory system that regulates nociceptive responses.</span></p>
Neurons in the caudal ventral lateral medulla mediate descending pain control
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Data from: Persistent firing and adaptation in optic-flow-sensitive descending neurons
<p>A general principle of sensory systems is that they adapt to prolonged stimulation by reducing their response over time. Indeed, in many visual systems, including higher-order motion sensitive neurons in the fly optic lobes and the mammalian visual cortex, a reduction in neural activity following prolonged stimulation occurs. In contrast to this phenomenon, the response of the motor system controlling flight maneuvers persists following the offset of visual motion. It has been suggested that this gap is caused by a lingering calcium signal in the output synapses of optic lobe neurons. However, whether this directly affects the responses of the post-synaptic descending neurons, leading to the observed behavioral output, is not known. We use extracellular electrophysiology to record from optic flow sensitive descending neurons in response to prolonged wide-field stimulation. We find that, as opposed to most sensory and visual neurons, and in particular to the motion vision sensitive neurons in the brains of flies and mammals, the descending neurons show little adaption during stimulus motion. In addition, we find that the optic flow sensitive descending neurons display persistent firing, or an after-effect, following the cessation of visual stimulation, consistent with the lingering calcium signal hypothesis. However, if the difference in after-effect is compensated for, subsequent presentation of stimuli in a test-adapt-test paradigm reveals adaptation to visual motion. Our results thus show a combination of adaptation and persistent firing, in the neurons that project to the thoracic ganglia, and thereby control behavioral output.</p>
Persistent firing and adaptation in optic-flow-sensitive descending neurons
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Data from: A descending neuron correlated with the rapid steering maneuvers of flying Drosophila
To navigate through the world, animals must stabilize their path against disturbances and change direction to avoid obstacles and to search for resources. Locomotion is thus guided by sensory cues but also depends on intrinsic processes, such as motivation and physiological state. Flies, for example, turn with the direction of large-field rotatory motion, an optomotor reflex that is thought to help them fly straight. Occasionally, however, they execute fast turns, called body saccades, either spontaneously or in response to patterns of visual motion such as expansion. These turns can be measured in tethered flying Drosophila, which facilitates the study of underlying neural mechanisms. Whereas there is evidence for an efference copy input to visual interneurons during saccades, the circuits that control spontaneous and visually elicited saccades are not well known. Using two-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiological recordings in tethered flying Drosophila, we have identified a descending neuron whose activity is correlated with both spontaneous and visually elicited turns during tethered flight. The cell's activity in open- and closed-loop experiments suggests that it does not underlie slower compensatory responses to horizontal motion but rather controls rapid changes in flight path. The activity of this neuron can explain some of the behavioral variability observed in response to visual motion and appears sufficient for eliciting turns when artificially activated. This work provides an entry point into studying the circuits underlying the control of rapid steering maneuvers in the fly brain.
Data from: A descending neuron correlated with the rapid steering maneuvers of flying Drosophila
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