title: The Emergence of Directional Selectivity in the Visual Motion Pathway of Drosophila.
abstract: The perception of visual motion is critical for animal navigation, and flies are a prominent model system for exploring this neural computation. In Drosophila, the T4 cells of the medulla are directionally selective and necessary for ON motion behavioral responses. To examine the emergence of directional selectivity, we developed genetic driver lines for the neuron types with the most synapses onto T4 cells. Using calcium imaging, we found that these neuron types are not directionally selective and that selectivity arises in the T4 dendrites. By silencing each input neuron type, we identified which neurons are necessary for T4 directional selectivity and ON motion behavioral responses. We then determined the sign of the connections between these neurons and T4 cells using neuronal photoactivation. Our results indicate a computational architecture for motion detection that is a hybrid of classic theoretical models.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Strother
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Shiuan-Tze
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Allan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Aljoscha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nern
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmine Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Gerald M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA. Electronic address: reiserm@janelia.hhmi.org.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Reiser
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: Drosophila; Neural Circuit; T4 neurons; directional selectivity; motion vision