Neural circuit mechanisms underlying context-specific halting in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Walking is a complex motor programme involving coordinated and distributed activity across the brain and the spinal cord. Halting appropriately at the correct time is a critical component of walking control. Despite progress in identifying neurons driving halting^1-6, the underlying neural circuit mechanisms responsible for overruling the competing walking state remain unclear. Here, using connectome-informed models^7-9 and functional studies, we explain two fundamental mechanisms by which Drosophila implement context-appropriate halting. The first mechanism ('walk-OFF') relies on GABAergic neurons that inhibit specific descending walking commands in the brain, whereas the second mechanism ('brake') relies on excitatory cholinergic neurons in the nerve cord that lead to

SUBMITTER: Sapkal N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11446846 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature