Randomly weighted receptor inputs can explain the large diversity of colour-coding neurons in the bee visual system.

ABSTRACT: True colour vision requires comparing the responses of different spectral classes of photoreceptors. In insects, there is a wealth of data available on the physiology of photoreceptors and on colour-dependent behaviour, but less is known about the neural mechanisms that link the two. The available information in bees indicates a diversity of colour opponent neurons in the visual optic ganglia that significantly exceeds that known in humans and other primates. Here, we present a simple mathematical model for colour processing in the optic lobes of bees to explore how this diversity might arise. We found that the model can reproduce the physiological spectral tuning curves of the 22 neurons that have been described so far. Moreover, the distribution of the presynaptic weights in the model su

SUBMITTER: Vasas V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6554269 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature