Fluctuation-Driven Neural Dynamics Reproduce Drosophila Locomotor Patterns.

ABSTRACT: The neural mechanisms determining the timing of even simple actions, such as when to walk or rest, are largely mysterious. One intriguing, but untested, hypothesis posits a role for ongoing activity fluctuations in neurons of central action selection circuits that drive animal behavior from moment to moment. To examine how fluctuating activity can contribute to action timing, we paired high-resolution measurements of freely walking Drosophila melanogaster with data-driven neural network modeling and dynamical systems analysis. We generated fluctuation-driven network models whose outputs-locomotor bouts-matched those measured from sensory-deprived Drosophila. From these models, we identified those that could also reproduce a second, unrelated dataset: the complex time-course of odor-evoked

SUBMITTER: Maesani A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4657918 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature