Abstract
Understanding information coding is important for resolving the functions of visual neural circuits. The motion vision system is a classic model for studying information coding as it contains a concise and complete information-processing circuit. In Drosophila, the axon terminals of motion-detection neurons (T4 and T5) project to the lobula plate, which comprises four regions that respond to the four cardinal directions of motion. The lobula plate thus represents a topographic map on a transverse plane. This enables us to study the coding of diagonal motion by investigating its response pattern. By using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, we found that the axon terminals of T4 and T5 cells in the lobula plate were activated during diagonal motion. Further experiments showed that the response to diagonal motion is distributed over the following two regions compared to the cardinal directions of motion—a diagonal motion selective response region and a non-selective response region—which overlap with the response regions of the two vector-correlated cardinal directions of motion. Interestingly, the sizes of the non-selective response regions are linearly correlated with the angle of the diagonal motion. These results revealed that the Drosophila visual system employs a composite coding for diagonal motion that includes both independent coding and vector decomposition coding.
Highlights
In nature, the motion vision information is vital to living animals [1]
During the motion of the grating pattern in the four cardinal directions, the axon terminals of the T4 and T5 cells were activated in specific sublayers of the lobula plate (Fig 1C), forming a topographic map for the cardinal directions of motion, as previously reported [10]
Investigating responses to diagonal motion in the visual system is a good model for the study of information coding in neuronal circuits
Summary
The motion vision information is vital to living animals [1]. Previous studies have shown that while flying, flies respond to approaching threats by executing rapid visually directed banked turns, and generate the escape sequences that consisted of a series of diagonal movements around yaw and roll axes [2, 3]. The visual information processing of diagonal motion is important for flying insects and other animals to successfully evade predators and perform other essential movements [2, 4]. Composite Coding for Diagonal Motion in the Drosophila Visual System analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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