Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling generates OFF selectivity in a simple visual circuit

Bo Qin, Tim-Henning Humberg, Anna Kim, Hyong S. Kim, Jacob Short, Fengqiu Diao, Benjamin H. White, Simon G. Sprecher and Quan Yuan ()
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Bo Qin: National Institutes of Health
Tim-Henning Humberg: University of Fribourg
Anna Kim: National Institutes of Health
Hyong S. Kim: National Institutes of Health
Jacob Short: National Institutes of Health
Fengqiu Diao: National Institutes of Health
Benjamin H. White: National Institutes of Health
Simon G. Sprecher: University of Fribourg
Quan Yuan: National Institutes of Health

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract ON and OFF selectivity in visual processing is encoded by parallel pathways that respond to either light increments or decrements. Despite lacking the anatomical features to support split channels, Drosophila larvae effectively perform visually-guided behaviors. To understand principles guiding visual computation in this simple circuit, we focus on investigating the physiological properties and behavioral relevance of larval visual interneurons. We find that the ON vs. OFF discrimination in the larval visual circuit emerges through light-elicited cholinergic signaling that depolarizes a cholinergic interneuron (cha-lOLP) and hyperpolarizes a glutamatergic interneuron (glu-lOLP). Genetic studies further indicate that muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAchR)/Gαo signaling produces the sign-inversion required for OFF detection in glu-lOLP, the disruption of which strongly impacts both physiological responses of downstream projection neurons and dark-induced pausing behavior. Together, our studies identify the molecular and circuit mechanisms underlying ON vs. OFF discrimination in the Drosophila larval visual system.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12104-w

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