Direct neural pathways convey distinct visual information to Drosophila mushroom bodies.

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eLife. 2016 Apr 15;5:e14009. doi: 10.7554/eLife.14009

Direct neural pathways convey distinct visual information to Drosophila mushroom bodies. Turner LabRubin LabAso Lab

Vogt K, Aso Y, Hige T, Knapek S, Ichinose T, Friedrich AB, Turner GC, Rubin GM, Tanimoto H

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Abstract

Previously, we identified that visual and olfactory associative memories of Drosophila share the mushroom body (MB) circuits (Vogt et al. 2014). Despite well-characterized odor representations in the Drosophila MB, the MB circuit for visual information is totally unknown. Here we show that a small subset of MB Kenyon cells (KCs) selectively responds to visual but not olfactory stimulation. The dendrites of these atypical KCs form a ventral accessory calyx (vAC), distinct from the main calyx that receives olfactory input. We identified two types of visual projection neurons (VPNs) directly connecting the optic lobes and the vAC. Strikingly, these VPNs are differentially required for visual memories of color and brightness. The segregation of visual and olfactory domains in the MB allows independent processing of distinct sensory memories and may be a conserved form of sensory representations among insects.

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Direct neural pathways convey distinct visual information to Drosophila mushroom bodies.

Abstract

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