1. Generation of stable heading representations in diverse visual scenes
- Author
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Larry F. Abbott, Ann M Hermundstad, Sandro Romani, Vivek Jayaraman, and Sung Soo Kim
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Heading (navigation) ,Visual perception ,Computer science ,General Science & Technology ,Optogenetics ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Compass ,Orientation ,Biological neural network ,Animals ,Spatial ,Computer vision ,Sensory cue ,Neurons ,Multidisciplinary ,Neuronal Plasticity ,business.industry ,Orientation (computer vision) ,Representation (systemics) ,030104 developmental biology ,Drosophila melanogaster ,Visual Perception ,Calcium ,Artificial intelligence ,business ,Head ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Many animals rely on an internal heading representation when navigating in varied environments1-10. How this representation is linked to the sensory cues that define different surroundings is unclear. In the fly brain, heading is represented by 'compass' neurons that innervate a ring-shaped structure known as the ellipsoid body3,11,12. Each compass neuron receives inputs from 'ring' neurons that are selective for particular visual features13-16; this combination provides an ideal substrate for the extraction of directional information from a visual scene. Here we combine two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetics in tethered flying flies with circuit modelling, and show how the correlated activity of compass and visual neurons drives plasticity17-22, which flexibly transforms two-dimensional visual cues into a stable heading representation. We also describe how this plasticity enables the fly to convert a partial heading representation, established from orienting within part of a novel setting, into a complete heading representation. Our results provide mechanistic insight into the memory-related computations that are essential for flexible navigation in varied surroundings.
- Published
- 2019