Sensorimotor computation underlying phototaxis in zebrafish
S. Wolf
,
A. Dubreuil
,
T. Bertoni
,
U.L. Böhm
,
V. Bormuth
,
R. Candelier
,
S. Karpenko
,
D.G.C. Hildebrand
,
I. H. Bianco
,
R. Monasson
,
G. Debrégeas
Nature Communication,
8, 651
Published 14 Sep. 2017
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00310-3
Abstract
Animals continuously gather sensory cues in order to move towards favourable environments. Efficient goal-directed navigation requires sensory perception and motor commands to be intertwined in a feedback loop, yet the neural substrate underlying this sensorimotor task in the vertebrate brain remains elusive. Here, we combine virtual-reality behavioural assays, volumetric calcium imaging, optogenetic stimulation, and circuit modelling to reveal the neural mechanisms through which a zebrafish performs phototaxis, i.e. actively orients towards a light source. Key to this process is a self-oscillating hindbrain population (HBO) that acts as a pacemaker for ocular saccades and controls the orientation of successive swim-bouts. It further integrates visual stimuli in a state-dependent manner, i.e. its response to visual inputs varies with the motor context, a mechanism that manifests itself in the phase-locked entrainment of the HBO by periodic stimuli. A rate model is developed that reproduces our observations and demonstrates how this sensorimotor processing eventually biases the animal trajectory towards bright regions.
This publication is related to:
Zebrafish and Danionella Cerebrum behavior and calcium imagery