Sensorimotor Transformations for Controlling Heading Direction in the Insect Central Complex

生物体的生存依赖于其在复杂环境中导航的能力。在导航过程中， 神经系统将来自各种感觉模态的空间信息整合成稳定的航向 方向在昆虫中，如果蝇Drosophila melanogaster，这一过程发生在中央 复杂的，大脑中一系列的神经系统结构。中央复合体的一个标志是它的柱状结构 组织，其中神经元活动表现为与生物体的变化相关的稳定颠簸。 航向果蝇中枢复合体一直是广泛的解剖学和功能学研究的主题。 表征，这揭示了感官知觉是如何通过其各个隔间转换的。 然而，对中枢复合体中的神经元活动如何转化为行为的理解是严格的。 相关的为了建立中央复合体活动和航向之间的因果关系， 需要彻底的行为剖析此外，将中枢复合体活动中继到运动神经元的回路 指挥中心仍然知之甚少。我们的提案详细说明了一项全面的研究计划， 光遗传学操纵果蝇扇形体（FB）的输入和输出，这是果蝇基因组中的一个关键结构。 中央综合体这些操作将揭示FB输入和输出神经元对 生成航向方向。为了实现这一目标，我们开发了一个行为室，用于跟踪 在光遗传学操作过程中行走的苍蝇。我们用这个腔室激活不同感觉神经元中的FB神经元， contexts.此外，我们还将绘制中央综合体的输出如何路由到 个脑袋为此，我们将采用各种新的配置trans-Tango，跨突触电路映射 和操作技术。第一个是trans-Tango（行为）， 允许选择性地光遗传学操纵所选起始群体的突触后配偶体。的 第二种是ds-Tango，一种将单突触和双突触神经元映射到选定起始群体的方法。的 最后是逆向探戈，一个跨突触映射工具，在逆行方向工作。我们的研究将揭示 感觉线索的空间信息如何通过多层电路转换，以引出导航 驱动因此，我们的研究结果将代表着在了解神经系统如何 将感官信息转化为行为。最后，我们的研究将揭示昆虫的电路图案， 在哺乳动物中保守的以执行类似的功能。因此，我们在昆虫中描述的电路可能 有助于理解人类的空间感知，这是人类最早的认知能力之一， 老年痴呆症

Survival of an organism relies on its ability to navigate through a complex environment. During navigation, the nervous system integrates spatial information from a wide variety of sensory modalities into a stable heading direction. In insects, such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, this process takes place in the central complex, a series of neuropil structures in the brain. A hallmark of the central complex is its columnar organization, in which neuronal activity appears as stable bumps that correlate with changes in the organism’s heading direction. The Drosophila central complex has been the subject of extensive anatomical and functional characterization, which has revealed how sensory percepts are transformed through its various compartments. However, the understanding of how neuronal activity in the central complex is translated into behavior is strictly correlational. To establish a causal relationship between central complex activity and heading direction, a thorough behavioral dissection is required. Further, the circuits that relay central complex activity to motor command centers are still poorly understood. Our proposal details a comprehensive research plan to optogenetically manipulate the inputs and outputs of the Drosophila fan-shaped body (FB), a key structure in the central complex. These manipulations will reveal the contributions of the FB input and output neurons to generating a heading direction. To achieve this, we developed a behavior chamber for tracking locomotion of walking flies during optogenetic manipulations. We use this chamber to activate FB neurons in different sensory contexts. Additionally, we will map how outputs from the central complex are routed to command centers in the brain. To this end, we will employ various new configurations of trans-Tango, the transsynaptic circuit mapping and manipulation technique developed by our laboratory. The first of these is trans-Tango(behavior), which allows selective optogenetic manipulation of the postsynaptic partners of a chosen starting population. The second is ds-Tango, a method for mapping neurons mono- and di-synaptic to a chosen starter population. The final is retro-Tango, a transsynaptic mapping tool that works in the retrograde direction. Our studies will reveal how spatial information of sensory cues is translated through multiple layers of circuitry to elicit the navigational drive. Our results will, therefore, represent a key step forward in the knowledge of how the nervous system transforms sensory information into behavior. Finally, our studies will reveal circuit motifs in insects that may be conserved in mammals to perform analogous functions. Therefore, the circuits we describe in insects may contribute to the understanding of spatial perception in humans, one of the first cognitive faculties impacted in Alzheimer's disease.