A vector-based strategy for olfactory navigation in <i>Drosophila</i>.

ABSTRACT: Odors serve as essential cues for navigation. Although tracking an odor plume has been modeled as a reflexive process, it remains unclear whether animals can use memories of their past odor encounters to infer the spatial structure of their chemical environment or their location within it. Here we developed a virtual-reality olfactory paradigm that allows head-fixed Drosophila to navigate structured chemical landscapes, offering insight into how memory mechanisms shape their navigational strategies. We found that flies track an appetitive odor corridor by following its boundary, alternating between rapid counterturns to exit the plume and directed returns to its edge. Using a combination of behavioral modeling, functional calcium imaging, and neural perturbations, we demonstrate tha

SUBMITTER: Siliciano AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11844514 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature