@article {69296, title = {Social state gates vision using three circuit mechanisms in Drosophila}, journal = {Nature}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Nov 20}, abstract = {

Animals are often bombarded with visual information and must prioritize specific visual features based on their current needs. The neuronal circuits that detect and relay visual features have been well studied. Much less is known about how an animal adjusts its visual attention as its goals or environmental conditions change. During social behaviours, flies need to focus on nearby flies. Here we study how the flow of visual information is altered when female Drosophila enter an aggressive state. From the connectome, we identify three state-dependent circuit motifs poised to modify the response of an aggressive female to fly-sized visual objects: convergence of excitatory inputs from neurons conveying select visual features and internal state; dendritic disinhibition of select visual feature detectors; and a switch that toggles between two visual feature detectors. Using cell-type-specific genetic tools, together with behavioural and neurophysiological analyses, we show that each of these circuit motifs is used during female aggression. We reveal that features of this same switch operate in male Drosophila during courtship pursuit, suggesting that disparate social behaviours may share circuit mechanisms. Our study provides a compelling example of using the connectome to infer circuit mechanisms that underlie dynamic processing of sensory signals.

}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-024-08255-6}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08255-6}, author = {Catherine E. Schretter and Tom Hindmarsh Sten and Nathan Klapoetke and Mei Shao and Aljoscha Nern and Marisa Dreher and Daniel Bushey and Alice A. Robie and Adam L. Taylor and Kristin M. Branson and Adriane Otopalik and Vanessa Ruta and Gerald M. Rubin} } @article {68808, title = {Cell type-specific contributions to a persistent aggressive internal state in female Drosophila}, journal = {bioRxiv}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Jun 07}, abstract = {

Persistent internal states are important for maintaining survival-promoting behaviors, such as aggression. In female\ Drosophila melanogaster, we have previously shown that individually activating either aIPg or pC1d cell types can induce aggression. Here we investigate further the individual roles of these cholinergic, sexually dimorphic cell types, and the reciprocal connections between them, in generating a persistent aggressive internal state. We find that a brief 30-second optogenetic stimulation of aIPg neurons was sufficient to promote an aggressive internal state lasting at least 10 minutes, whereas similar stimulation of pC1d neurons did not. While we previously showed that stimulation of pC1e alone does not evoke aggression, persistent behavior could be promoted through simultaneous stimulation of pC1d and pC1e, suggesting an unexpected synergy of these cell types in establishing a persistent aggressive state. Neither aIPg nor pC1d show persistent neuronal activity themselves, implying that the persistent internal state is maintained by other mechanisms. Moreover, inactivation of pC1d did not significantly reduce aIPg-evoked persistent aggression arguing that the aggressive state did not depend on pC1d-aIPg recurrent connectivity. Our results suggest the need for alternative models to explain persistent female aggression.

}, doi = {10.1101/2023.06.07.543722}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.07.543722}, author = {Hui Chiu and Alice A. Robie and Kristin M. Branson and Tanvi Vippa and Samantha Epstein and Gerald M. Rubin and David J. Anderson and Catherine E. Schretter} } @article {69007, title = {Driver lines for studying associative learning in Drosophila}, journal = {bioRxiv}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Sep 16}, abstract = {

The mushroom body (MB) is the center for associative learning in insects. In Drosophila, intersectional split-GAL4 drivers and electron microscopy (EM) connectomes have laid the foundation for precise interrogation of the MB neural circuits. However, many cell types upstream and downstream of the MB remained to be investigated due to lack of driver lines. Here we describe a new collection of over 800 split-GAL4 and split-LexA drivers that cover approximately 300 cell types, including sugar sensory neurons, putative nociceptive ascending neurons, olfactory and thermo-/hygro-sensory projection neurons, interneurons connected with the MB-extrinsic neurons, and various other cell types. We characterized activation phenotypes for a subset of these lines and identified the sugar sensory neuron line most suitable for reward substitution. Leveraging the thousands of confocal microscopy images associated with the collection, we analyzed neuronal morphological stereotypy and discovered that one set of mushroom body output neurons, MBON08/MBON09, exhibits striking individuality and asymmetry across animals. In conjunction with the EM connectome maps, the driver lines reported here offer a powerful resource for functional dissection of neural circuits for associative learning in adult Drosophila.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.94168.4}, url = {https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.94168.4 }, author = {Yichun Shuai and Megan Sammons and Gabriella Sterne and Karen Hibbard and He Yang and Ching-Po Yang and Claire Managan and Igor Siwanowicz and Tzumin Lee and Gerald M. Rubin and Glenn Turner and Yoshinori Aso} } @article {68838, title = {Small-field visual projection neurons detect translational optic flow and support walking control}, journal = {bioRxiv}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Jun 22}, abstract = {

Animals rely on visual motion for navigating the world, and research in flies has clarified how neural circuits extract information from moving visual scenes. However, the major pathways connecting these patterns of optic flow to behavior remain poorly understood. Using a high-throughput quantitative assay of visually guided behaviors and genetic neuronal silencing, we discovered a region in\ Drosophila{\textquoteright}s protocerebrum critical for visual motion following. We used neuronal silencing, calcium imaging, and optogenetics to identify a single cell type, LPC1, that innervates this region, detects translational optic flow, and plays a key role in regulating forward walking. Moreover, the population of LPC1s can estimate the travelling direction, such as when gaze direction diverges from body heading. By linking specific cell types and their visual computations to specific behaviors, our findings establish a foundation for understanding how the nervous system uses vision to guide navigation.

}, doi = {10.1101/2023.06.21.546024}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.21.546024}, author = {Mathew D. Isaacson and Jessica L. M. Eliason and Aljoscha Nern and Edward M. Rogers and Gus K. Lott and Tanya Tabachnik and William J. Rowell and Austin W. Edwards and Wyatt L. Korff and Gerald M. Rubin and Kristin Branson and Michael B. Reiser} } @article {64997, title = {Neural circuit basis of aversive odour processing in drosophila from sensory input to descending output.}, journal = {bioRxiv}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Aug 26}, abstract = {

Evolution has tuned the nervous system of most animals to produce stereotyped behavioural responses to ethologically relevant stimuli. For example, female\ Drosophila\ avoid laying eggs in the presence of geosmin, an odorant produced by toxic moulds. Using this system, we now identify third order olfactory neurons that are essential for an innate aversive behaviour. Connectomics data place these neurons in the context of a complete synaptic circuit from sensory input to descending output. We find multiple levels of valence-specific convergence, including a novel form of axo-axonic input onto second order neurons conveying another danger signal, the pheromone of parasitoid wasps. However we also observe a massive divergence as geosmin-responsive second order olfactory neurons connect with a diverse array of \~{}75 cell types. Our data suggest a transition from a labelled line organisation in the periphery to one in which olfactory information is mapped onto many different higher order populations with distinct behavioural significance.

}, doi = {10.1101/394403}, author = {Paavo Huoviala and Michael-John Dolan and Fiona M. Love and Shahar Frechter and Ruair{\'\i} J.V. Roberts and Zane Mitrevica and Philipp Schlegel and Alexander Shakeel Bates and Yoshinori Aso and Tiago Rodrigues and Hannah Cornwall and Marcus Stensmyr and Davi Bock and Gerald M. Rubin and Marta Costa and Gregory S.X.E. Jefferis} }