January 23, 2019
16:00 ~ 17:00
CiNet　1F　Conference Room

“Parallel encoding of vision, memory, and self-motion in fruit fly central nervous system”

Hiroshi M. Shiozaki
Researcher, Hokto Kazama lab
RIKEN Center for Brain Science

Host : Ichiro Fujita

Abstract:
Animal navigation requires a variety of brain functions such as perception, memory, and decision-making to control directional heading. In the brain, these functions are implemented as patterns of neural activity. However, it remains unclear how such activity patterns emerge because the underlying neural circuits are hard to define in mammals. We focus on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, making use of rich genetic resources to link the structure and function of neural circuits. By performing two-photon calcium imaging while head-fixed flies were flying in a virtual environment, we identified parallel neural circuits that carry information about vision, memory, and self-motion. The brain region downstream of the parallel circuits is the central complex, the navigation center in the insect brain. Our recording revealed that multiple sets of recurrent circuits in the central complex represent flight steering maneuvers as the dynamics reminiscent of ring attractors. In sum, we decipher neural codes for navigation in a tractable model animal and set the stage for understanding how the brain implements computations for complex behaviors.