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Main Menu - Block
- Overview
- Anatomy and Histology
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy
- Electron Microscopy
- Flow Cytometry
- Gene Targeting and Transgenics
- Immortalized Cell Line Culture
- Integrative Imaging
- Invertebrate Shared Resource
- Janelia Experimental Technology
- Mass Spectrometry
- Media Prep
- Molecular Genomics
- Primary & iPS Cell Culture
- Project Pipeline Support
- Project Technical Resources
- Quantitative Genomics
- Scientific Computing Software
- Scientific Computing Systems
- Viral Tools
- Vivarium
Abstract
Motor systems implement diverse motor programs to pattern behavioral sequences, yet how different motor actions are controlled on a moment-by-moment basis remains unclear. Here, we investigated the neural circuit mechanisms underlying the control of distinct courtship songs in Drosophila. Courting males rapidly alternate between two types of song: pulse and sine. By recording calcium signals in the ventral nerve cord in singing flies, we found that one neural population is active during both songs, whereas an expanded neural population, which includes neurons from the first population, is active during pulse song. Brain recordings showed that this nested activation pattern is present in two descending pathways required for singing. Connectomic analysis reveals that these two descending pathways provide structured input to ventral nerve cord neurons in a manner consistent with their activation patterns. These results suggest that nested premotor circuit activity, directed by distinct descending signals, enables rapid switching between motor actions.
