Bilateral interactions of optic-flow sensitive neurons coordinate course control in flies

Victoria O. Pokusaeva, Roshan Satapathy, Olga Symonova and Maximilian Joesch ()
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Victoria O. Pokusaeva: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Roshan Satapathy: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Olga Symonova: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)
Maximilian Joesch: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Abstract Animals rely on compensatory actions to maintain stability and navigate their environment efficiently. These actions depend on global visual motion cues known as optic-flow. While the optomotor response has been the traditional focus for studying optic-flow compensation in insects, its simplicity has been insufficient to determine the role of the intricate optic-flow processing network involved in visual course control. Here, we reveal a series of course control behaviours in Drosophila and link them to specific neural circuits. We show that bilateral electrical coupling of optic-flow-sensitive neurons in the fly’s lobula plate are required for a proper course control. This electrical interaction works alongside chemical synapses within the HS-H2 network to control the dynamics and direction of turning behaviours. Our findings reveal how insects use bilateral motion cues for navigation, assigning a new functional significance to the HS-H2 network and suggesting a previously unknown role for gap junctions in non-linear operations.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53173-w

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