Calcium imaging of activity in Central Complex neurons during flight in Drosophila
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1
California Institute of Technology, Computation and Neural Systems, United States
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2
University of Washington, Department of Biology, United States
The Central Complex is a set of midline neuropils common to all insect species. It is composed of several substructures, including the protocerebral bridge, fan-shaped body, and ellipsoid body. These regions have been implicated in a large variety of behaviors, including navigation and motor coordination. There is no consensus, however, on the types of computations that they perform. In order to study the neuronal activity in the Central Complex, we use the Gal4 system to target expression of a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GCaMP3) in specific subsets of Central Complex neurons in Drosophila melanogaster. After tethering individual flies to a custom holder and dissecting the dorsal head cuticle, we use 2-photon excitation to image changes in calcium levels in these cell types. The custom holder allows the animal to flap its wings as in flight, and we track wingstroke amplitudes using a computer vision system in order to monitor turning behavior throughout the experiment. An LED panel displays various visual stimuli. During imaging we observe normal turning responses toward vertical objects, indicating healthy fictive flight and visibility of the visual stimuli to the fly. Preliminary results reveal the existence of cells in the fan-shaped body that respond with intracellular calcium increases to the appearance of a visual landmark while the animal is in tethered flight. During quiescence, however, the same cells are unresponsive to identical stimuli. Additionally, other cell types show increased calcium levels during flight compared to quiescence. Control experiments in which the same Gal4 lines drive expression of enhanced green florescent protein (eGFP) show no stimulus- or flight-evoked responses, confirming that our results are not due to brain motion or other artifacts. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining quantitative behavioral techniques with the genetic tools available in flies to look for hallmarks of state-modulated processing and visual-motor integration in central brain regions.
Keywords:
calcium imaging,
central complex,
Drosophila melanogaster,
fan-shaped body,
insect flight,
landmark navigation
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award)
Topic:
Sensorimotor Integration
Citation:
Weir
P and
Dickinson
M
(2012). Calcium imaging of activity in Central Complex neurons during flight in Drosophila.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00347
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Received:
30 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Mr. Peter Weir, California Institute of Technology, Computation and Neural Systems, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States, peter.weir@gmail.com