Nucleus Isthmi Is Required to Sustain Target Pursuit during Visually Guided Prey-Catching.

ABSTRACT: Animals must frequently perform a sequence of behaviors to achieve a specific goal. However, the neural mechanisms that promote the continuation and completion of such action sequences are not well understood. Here, we characterize the anatomy, physiology, and function of the nucleus isthmi (NI), a cholinergic nucleus thought to modulate tectal-dependent, goal-directed behaviors. We find that the larval zebrafish NI establishes reciprocal connectivity with the optic tectum and identify two distinct types of isthmic projection neuron that either connect ipsilaterally to retinorecipient laminae of the tectum and pretectum or bilaterally to both tectal hemispheres. Laser ablation of NI caused highly specific deficits in tectally mediated loom-avoidance and prey-catching behavior. In the conte

SUBMITTER: Henriques PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6557330 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature