Divergent neural circuits for proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensing of the <i>Drosophila</i> leg.

ABSTRACT: Somatosensory neurons provide the nervous system with information about mechanical forces originating inside and outside the body. Here, we use connectomics from electron microscopy to reconstruct and analyze neural circuits downstream of the largest somatosensory organ in the Drosophila leg, the femoral chordotonal organ (FeCO). The FeCO has been proposed to support both proprioceptive sensing of the fly's femur-tibia joint and exteroceptive sensing of substrate vibrations, but it was unknown which sensory neurons and central circuits contribute to each of these functions. We found that different subtypes of FeCO sensory neurons feed into distinct proprioceptive and exteroceptive pathways. Position- and movement-encoding FeCO neurons connect to local leg motor control circuits in t

SUBMITTER: Lee SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11071415 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature