Abstract
Most animals survive and thrive due to navigational behavior to reach their destinations. In order to navigate, it is important for animals to integrate information obtained from multisensory inputs and use that information to modulate their behavior. In this study, by using a virtual reality (VR) system for an insect, we investigated how the adult silkmoth integrates visual and wind direction information during female search behavior (olfactory behavior). According to the behavioral experiments using a VR system, the silkmoth had the highest navigational success rate when odor, vision, and wind information were correctly provided. However, the success rate of the search was reduced if the wind direction information provided was different from the direction actually detected. This indicates that it is important to acquire not only odor information but also wind direction information correctly. When the wind is received from the same direction as the odor, the silkmoth takes positive behavior; if the odor is detected but the wind direction is not in the same direction as the odor, the silkmoth behaves more carefully. This corresponds to a modulation of behavior according to the degree of complexity (turbulence) of the environment. We mathematically modeled the modulation of behavior using multisensory information and evaluated it using simulations. The mathematical model not only succeeded in reproducing the actual silkmoth search behavior but also improved the search success relative to the conventional odor-source search algorithm.
Highlights
In many organisms, including humans, appropriate behavior is determined based on the integration of different kinds of information from the environment
Previous studies have investigated the homing behavior of a desert ant (Cataglyphis) (Wehner, 2003), the pheromone source localization behavior of a male silkmoth (Bombyx mori) (Obara, 1979), and the sound source localization behavior of female crickets (Gryllus campestris L.) (Schmitz et al, 1982). These studies have contributed to our understanding of the sensory-motor integration mechanism that converts sensory input into motor output – an important function of the neural system
Multimodal virtual reality (VR) systems have attracted a great deal of attention (Kaushik et al, 2020; Naik et al, 2020)
Summary
In many organisms, including humans, appropriate behavior is determined based on the integration of different kinds of information from the environment. Examples of information obtained from the environment include light, sound, odor, and wind. Neuroscience | Physics of Living Systems it is difficult to obtain precise directional and spatial information for odors because they (chemical substances) are carried by the wind. Odors are widely utilized as a communication tool by organisms (Renou, 2014) because they have good residuality and diffusivity that physical wave signals do not have. In particular, communicate extensively using odor (e.g. aggregation pheromones, trail pheromones, sex pheromones; Wyatt, 2014), despite their small-s cale neural systems. Odor information is largely used to locate feeding sites and flowers (Renou, 2014)
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