A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

Lu Huang, Tifei Yuan, Minjie Tan, Yue Xi, Yu Hu, Qian Tao, Zhikai Zhao, Jiajun Zheng, Yushui Han, Fuqiang Xu, Minmin Luo, Patricia J. Sollars, Mingliang Pu, Gary E. Pickard, Kwok-Fai So () and Chaoran Ren ()
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Lu Huang: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Tifei Yuan: School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University
Minjie Tan: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Yue Xi: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Yu Hu: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Qian Tao: School of Medicine, Jinan University
Zhikai Zhao: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Jiajun Zheng: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Yushui Han: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Fuqiang Xu: State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Minmin Luo: National Institute of Biological Sciences, Zhongguancun Life Science
Patricia J. Sollars: School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska
Mingliang Pu: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University
Gary E. Pickard: School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska
Kwok-Fai So: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University
Chaoran Ren: Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Animals promote their survival by avoiding rapidly approaching objects that indicate threats. In mice, looming-evoked defensive responses are triggered by the superior colliculus (SC) which receives direct retinal inputs. However, the specific neural circuits that begin in the retina and mediate this important behaviour remain unclear. Here we identify a subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that controls mouse looming-evoked defensive responses through axonal collaterals to the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and SC. Looming signals transmitted by DRN-projecting RGCs activate DRN GABAergic neurons that in turn inhibit serotoninergic neurons. Moreover, activation of DRN serotoninergic neurons reduces looming-evoked defensive behaviours. Thus, a dedicated population of RGCs signals rapidly approaching visual threats and their input to the DRN controls a serotonergic self-gating mechanism that regulates innate defensive responses. Our study provides new insights into how the DRN and SC work in concert to extract and translate visual threats into defensive behavioural responses.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14908

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