Sensory Conflict Disrupts Activity of the Drosophila Circadian Network.
Periodic changes in light and temperature synchronize the Drosophila circadian clock, but the question of how the fly brain integrates these two input pathways to set circadian time remains unanswered. We explore multisensory cue combination by testing the resilience of the circadian network to conflicting environmental inputs. We show that misaligned light and temperature cycles can lead to dramatic changes in the daily locomotor activities of wild-type flies during and after exposure to sensory conflict. This altered behavior is associated with a drastic reduction in the amplitude of PERIOD (PER) oscillations in brain clock neurons and desynchronization between light- and temperature-sensitive neuronal subgroups. The behavioral disruption depends heavily on the phase relationship between light and temperature signals. Our results represent a systematic quantification of multisensory integration in the Drosophila circadian system and lend further support to the view of the clock as a network of coupled oscillatory subunits.
Centre for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Ear Institute, University College London, London WC1X 8EE, UK.
Ross E F
REF
Harper
Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London W1T 4JG, UK.
Peter
P
Dayan
Centre for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Ear Institute, University College London, London WC1X 8EE, UK; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Electronic address: joerg.albert@ucl.ac.uk.
Joerg T
JT
Albert
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Electronic address: r.stanewsky@ucl.ac.uk.
Ralf
R
Stanewsky
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D057906:Circadian Clocks / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D008124:Locomotion / Q000528:radiation effects; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013696:Temperature