Functional stratification of sensory encoding in a biological gyroscope

生物陀螺仪中感觉编码的功能分层

• 批准号: 2221458
• 负责人: Bradley Dickerson
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221458&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Functional; stratification; sensory; encoding; biological

Flying insects are among the most maneuverable animals on the planet, and must rapidly integrate information from multiple senses to achieve fine-scale control of locomotion. For example, flies combine input from the eyes and small, dumbbell-shaped structures known as halteres to both maintain stability and perform aerial maneuvers. The halteres are located behind the forewings and evolved from the hindwings. The halteres are well-known as biological gyroscopes, detecting body rotations that in turn trigger a number of stabilization reflexes, including changes in wing motion. At their base, the halteres possess hundreds of biological strain gauges, known as campaniform sensilla, that provide the wing steering muscles with direct feedback each wingstroke. Recent evidence suggests that the haltere is under active control during flight, making it a multifunctional sensory organ that helps flies perform maneuvers and still maintain their balance while in the air. However, how the haltere accomplishes these dual roles, and how these roles relate to the activity of the wing muscles, remains unclear. A more complete understanding of the haltere’s role in flight control will provide insight into how this unique sensory organ endows flies with their exquisite flight capacities. This project involves a collaboration with the Morehead Planetarium that takes advantage of the principal investigator’s extensive experience in informal education to foster public dialogue through Carolina Science Cafés. Additionally, undergraduates from underrepresented groups will be mentored in conducting research throughout this project. Finally, the results from this research will help develop micro air vehicles navigate complex environments.The goal of this proposal is to reveal the principles of sensory encoding and sensorimotor processing that flies use in controlling the haltere, and thus, their aerial maneuvers. The research will focus on the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and combine new in vivo imaging techniques with analysis approaches drawn from computational neuroscience and muscle electrophysiology. Through expression of the genetically-encoded, optical calcium sensor GCaMP, the activity of haltere campaniform sensilla during visually-guided flight maneuvers will be directly observed. These experiments will test the hypothesis that specific regions of the haltere encode different aspects of visual motion, such as direction or angular velocity. Then, reverse correlation analysis will be used to construct quantitative models that test if these different regions are recruited in a linear or nonlinear fashion during active maneuvers. Finally, simultaneous calcium imaging and electrophysiology of the wing steering muscles will address if the functional divisions of the wing muscles are derived from particular regions of the haltere. Furthermore, this work will demonstrate how the arrangement and location of mechanosensors acts as a filter for behaviorally relevant stimuli. By taking an organismal approach, and linking the micromechanics of sensory structures with flight behavior, these experiments will make clear the selective pressures that led to the haltere’s evolution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

飞行昆虫是地球上机动性最强的动物之一，必须快速整合多种感官的信息，以实现对运动的精细控制。例如，苍蝇将眼睛的输入与称为“halteres”的小型哑铃形结构结合起来，以保持稳定性并执行空中机动。笼头位于前翅后面，由后翅演化而来。挂脖装置被称为生物陀螺仪，可以检测身体的旋转，进而触发许多稳定反射，包括翅膀运动的变化。在它们的底部，哈特雷拥有数百个生物应变仪，称为钟形感觉器，为机翼转向肌肉提供每次翅膀冲程的直接反馈。最近的证据表明，苍蝇在飞行过程中受到主动控制，使其成为一种多功能感觉器官，可以帮助苍蝇进行机动并在空中保持平衡。然而，胯部如何完成这些双重作用，以及这些作用如何与翅膀肌肉的活动相关，目前仍不清楚。更全面地了解苍蝇在飞行控制中的作用将有助于深入了解这种独特的感觉器官如何赋予苍蝇精湛的飞行能力。该项目涉及与莫尔黑德天文馆的合作，利用首席研究员在非正式教育方面的丰富经验，通过卡罗来纳科学咖啡馆促进公众对话。此外，来自代表性不足群体的本科生将在整个项目中接受指导进行研究。最后，这项研究的结果将有助于开发微型飞行器在复杂的环境中导航。该提案的目标是揭示飞行器用于控制悬垂物的感觉编码和感觉运动处理的原理，从而控制它们的空中机动。该研究将重点关注果蝇，并将新的体内成像技术与计算神经科学和肌肉电生理学的分析方法相结合。通过基因编码的光学钙传感器GCaMP的表达，将直接观察视觉引导飞行操纵过程中haltere钟形感器的活动。这些实验将检验这样的假设：haltere 的特定区域编码视觉运动的不同方面，例如方向或角速度。然后，逆相关分析将用于构建定量模型，测试这些不同区域在主动操作过程中是否以线性或非线性方式被招募。最后，翅膀转向肌肉的同步钙成像和电生理学将解决翅膀肌肉的功能划分是否源自颈部特定区域的问题。此外，这项工作将演示机械传感器的排列和位置如何充当行为相关刺激的过滤器。通过采用有机方法，并将感觉结构的微观力学与飞行行为联系起来，这些实验将阐明导致haltere进化的选择性压力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。