A neuronal pathway that commands deceleration in Drosophila larval light-avoidance.

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Neuroscience Bulletin. 2019 Dec 1;35(6). doi: 10.1007/s12264-019-00349-w

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Gong C, Ouyang Z, Zhao W, Wang J, Li K, Zhou P, Zhao T, Zheng N, Gong Z

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Abstract

When facing a sudden danger or aversive condition while engaged in on-going forward motion, animals transiently slow down and make a turn to escape. The neural mechanisms underlying stimulation-induced deceleration in avoidance behavior are largely unknown. Here, we report that in Drosophila larvae, light-induced deceleration was commanded by a continuous neural pathway that included prothoracicotropic hormone neurons, eclosion hormone neurons, and tyrosine decarboxylase 2 motor neurons (the PET pathway). Inhibiting neurons in the PET pathway led to defects in light-avoidance due to insufficient deceleration and head casting. On the other hand, activation of PET pathway neurons specifically caused immediate deceleration in larval locomotion. Our findings reveal a neural substrate for the emergent deceleration response and provide a new understanding of the relationship between behavioral modules in animal avoidance responses.

PMID: 30810958 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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A neuronal pathway that commands deceleration in Drosophila larval light-avoidance.

Abstract

PMID: 30810958 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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