Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing

Some animals are attracted by sun light, others are highly repulsed by it. Especially for slowly moving animals, such as Drosophila larvae, direct sunlight may be perceived as noxious stimulus as it increases the risk of desiccation, DNA-damaging by UV-light and exposure to predators. For several re...

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Main Authors: Tim-Henning Humberg, Simon G. Sprecher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00305/full
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spelling doaj-2b0a35afd45a4e7fa0ee883e5f9749a22020-11-25T00:30:00ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532018-12-011210.3389/fnbeh.2018.00305424732Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information ProcessingTim-Henning HumbergSimon G. SprecherSome animals are attracted by sun light, others are highly repulsed by it. Especially for slowly moving animals, such as Drosophila larvae, direct sunlight may be perceived as noxious stimulus as it increases the risk of desiccation, DNA-damaging by UV-light and exposure to predators. For several reasons, model organisms like Drosophila larvae are well-suited for investigating how light cues are translated into an appropriate behavioral output. First, many of the genetic tools, which were created for use in adult fruit flies, work also in larvae. Second, the lower number of cells in Drosophila larvae compared to adults makes this system adequate for reconstructing neural circuits. Third, the relatively simple behavioral repertoire of larvae facilitates the study of basic functions like navigation with regards to light. Larvae navigate robustly away from a light source by the use of several sophisticated behavioral strategies which are based on temporal or spatial information processing. Two central brain neurons, the NP394-neurons, are highly important for larval light avoidance. It was even reported that these cells seem to play a functional role in a putative larval light preference switch right before pupation. However, the exact function of the NP394-neurons in light navigation remains unknown. We here show that the functional role of NP394-neurons in larval light navigation is restricted to behaviors based on temporal information processing, but not for spatial navigation.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00305/fullDrosophila larvaeNP394insect behaviorlight navigationtemporal information processingspatial information integration
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Tim-Henning Humberg
Simon G. Sprecher
spellingShingle Tim-Henning Humberg
Simon G. Sprecher
Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Drosophila larvae
NP394
insect behavior
light navigation
temporal information processing
spatial information integration
author_facet Tim-Henning Humberg
Simon G. Sprecher
author_sort Tim-Henning Humberg
title Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
title_short Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
title_full Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
title_fullStr Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
title_full_unstemmed Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing
title_sort two pairs of drosophila central brain neurons mediate larval navigational strategies based on temporal light information processing
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
issn 1662-5153
publishDate 2018-12-01
description Some animals are attracted by sun light, others are highly repulsed by it. Especially for slowly moving animals, such as Drosophila larvae, direct sunlight may be perceived as noxious stimulus as it increases the risk of desiccation, DNA-damaging by UV-light and exposure to predators. For several reasons, model organisms like Drosophila larvae are well-suited for investigating how light cues are translated into an appropriate behavioral output. First, many of the genetic tools, which were created for use in adult fruit flies, work also in larvae. Second, the lower number of cells in Drosophila larvae compared to adults makes this system adequate for reconstructing neural circuits. Third, the relatively simple behavioral repertoire of larvae facilitates the study of basic functions like navigation with regards to light. Larvae navigate robustly away from a light source by the use of several sophisticated behavioral strategies which are based on temporal or spatial information processing. Two central brain neurons, the NP394-neurons, are highly important for larval light avoidance. It was even reported that these cells seem to play a functional role in a putative larval light preference switch right before pupation. However, the exact function of the NP394-neurons in light navigation remains unknown. We here show that the functional role of NP394-neurons in larval light navigation is restricted to behaviors based on temporal information processing, but not for spatial navigation.
topic Drosophila larvae
NP394
insect behavior
light navigation
temporal information processing
spatial information integration
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00305/full
work_keys_str_mv AT timhenninghumberg twopairsofdrosophilacentralbrainneuronsmediatelarvalnavigationalstrategiesbasedontemporallightinformationprocessing
AT simongsprecher twopairsofdrosophilacentralbrainneuronsmediatelarvalnavigationalstrategiesbasedontemporallightinformationprocessing
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