Dataset Information

Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: To thrive, organisms must maintain physiological and environmental variables in suitable ranges. Given that these variables undergo constant fluctuations over varying time scales, how do biological control systems maintain control over these values? We explored this question in the context of phototactic behavior in larval zebrafish. We demonstrate that larval zebrafish use phototaxis to maintain environmental luminance at a set point, that the value of this set point fluctuates on a time scale of seconds when environmental luminance changes, and that it is determined by calculating the mean input across both sides of the visual field. These results expand on previous studies of flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish; they suggest that larval zebrafish exert homeostatic control over the luminance of their surroundings, and that feedback from the surroundings drives allostatic changes to the luminance set point. As such, we describe a novel behavioral algorithm with which larval zebrafish exert control over a sensory variable.

SUBMITTER: Chen AB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8180250 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish.

Chen Alex B AB Deb Diptodip D Bahl Armin A Engert Florian F

The Journal of experimental biology 20210524 10

To thrive, organisms must maintain physiological and environmental variables in suitable ranges. Given that these variables undergo constant fluctuations over varying time scales, how do biological control systems maintain control over these values? We explored this question in the context of phototactic behavior in larval zebrafish. We demonstrate that larval zebrafish use phototaxis to maintain environmental luminance at a set point, that the value of this set point fluctuates on a time scale ...[more]

PMID: 34027982

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:The oculomotor integrator (OI) in the vertebrate hindbrain transforms eye velocity input into persistent position coding output, which plays a crucial role in retinal image stability. For a mechanistic understanding of the integrator function and eye position control, knowledge about the tuning of the OI and other oculomotor nuclei is needed. Zebrafish are increasingly used to study integrator function and sensorimotor circuits, yet the precise neuronal tuning to motor variables remains uncharacterized. RESULTS:Here, we recorded cellular calcium signals while evoking monocular and binocular optokinetic eye movements at different slow-phase eye velocities. Our analysis reveals the anatomical distributions of motoneurons and internuclear neurons in the nucleus abducens as well as those of oculomotor neurons in caudally adjacent hindbrain volumes. Each neuron is tuned to eye position and/or velocity to variable extents and is only activated after surpassing particular eye position and velocity thresholds. While the abducens (rhombomeres 5/6) mainly codes for eye position, in rhombomeres 7/8, a velocity-to-position coding gradient exists along the rostro-caudal axis, which likely corresponds to the oculomotor structures storing velocity and position, and is in agreement with a feedforward mechanism of persistent activity generation. Position encoding neurons are recruited at eye position thresholds distributed across the behaviourally relevant dynamic range, while velocity-encoding neurons have more centred firing thresholds for velocity. In the abducens, neurons coding exclusively for one eye intermingle with neurons coding for both eyes. Many of these binocular neurons are preferentially active during conjugate eye movements and less active during monocular eye movements. This differential recruitment during monocular versus conjugate tasks represents a functional diversification in the final common motor pathway. CONCLUSIONS:We localized and functionally characterized the repertoire of oculomotor neurons in the zebrafish hindbrain. Our findings provide evidence for a mixed but task-specific binocular code and suggest that generation of persistent activity is organized along the rostro-caudal axis in the hindbrain.

Dataset Information

Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish.

Publications

Algorithms underlying flexible phototaxis in larval zebrafish.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets