A disinhibitory mechanism biases Drosophila innate light preference

Weiqiao Zhao, Peipei Zhou, Caixia Gong, Zhenhuan Ouyang, Jie Wang, Nenggan Zheng () and Zhefeng Gong ()
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Weiqiao Zhao: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Peipei Zhou: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Caixia Gong: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Zhenhuan Ouyang: Zhejiang University
Jie Wang: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Nenggan Zheng: Zhejiang University
Zhefeng Gong: Zhejiang University School of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Innate preference toward environmental conditions is crucial for animal survival. Although much is known about the neural processing of sensory information, how the aversive or attractive sensory stimulus is transformed through central brain neurons into avoidance or approaching behavior is largely unclear. Here we show that Drosophila larval light preference behavior is regulated by a disinhibitory mechanism. In the disinhibitory circuit, a pair of GABAergic neurons exerts tonic inhibition on one pair of contralateral projecting neurons that control larval reorientation behavior. When a larva enters the light area, the reorientation-controlling neurons are disinhibited to allow reorientation to occur as the upstream inhibitory neurons are repressed by light. When the larva exits the light area, the inhibition on the downstream neurons is restored to repress further reorientation and thus prevents the larva from re-entering the light area. We suggest that disinhibition may serve as a common neural mechanism for animal innate preference behavior.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07929-w

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