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Paré PSL, Hien DFDS, Youba M, Yerbanga RS, Cohuet A, Gouagna L, Diabaté A, Ignell R, Dabiré RK, Gnankiné O, Lefèvre T. The paradox of plant preference: The malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii select suboptimal food sources for their survival and reproduction. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11187. [PMID: 38533352 PMCID: PMC10963300 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii mosquitoes, two major malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, exhibit selectivity among plant species as potential food sources. However, it remains unclear if their preference aligns with optimal nutrient intake and survival. Following an extensive screening of the effects of 31 plant species on An. coluzzii in Burkina Faso, we selected three species for their contrasting effects on mosquito survival, namely Ixora coccinea, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, and Combretum indicum. We assessed the sugar content of these plants and their impact on mosquito fructose positivity, survival, and insemination rate, using Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae, with glucose 5% and water as controls. Plants displayed varying sugar content and differentially affected the survival, sugar intake, and insemination rate of mosquitoes. All three plants were more attractive to mosquitoes than controls, with An. gambiae being more responsive than An. coluzzii. Notably, C. indicum was the most attractive but had the lowest sugar content and offered the lowest survival, insemination rate, and fructose positivity. Our findings unveil a performance-preference mismatch in An. coluzzii and An. gambiae regarding plant food sources. Several possible reasons for this negative correlation between performance and preference are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prisca S. L. Paré
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRSMontpellierFrance
- Laboratoire d'Entomologie Fondamentale et Appliquée (LEFA), Unité de Formation et de Recherche—Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre (UFR‐SVT)Université Joseph KI‐ZERBO (UJKZ)OuagadougouBurkina Faso
| | - Domonbabele F. D. S. Hien
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRSMontpellierFrance
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
| | - Mariam Youba
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRSMontpellierFrance
- Laboratoire d'Entomologie Fondamentale et Appliquée (LEFA), Unité de Formation et de Recherche—Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre (UFR‐SVT)Université Joseph KI‐ZERBO (UJKZ)OuagadougouBurkina Faso
| | - Rakiswendé S. Yerbanga
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- Institut Des Sciences et Techniques (INSTech—BOBO)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
| | - Anna Cohuet
- MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRSMontpellierFrance
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
| | | | - Abdoulaye Diabaté
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
| | - Rickard Ignell
- Unit of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Disease Vector GroupSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUppsalaSweden
| | - Roch K. Dabiré
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
| | - Olivier Gnankiné
- Laboratoire d'Entomologie Fondamentale et Appliquée (LEFA), Unité de Formation et de Recherche—Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre (UFR‐SVT)Université Joseph KI‐ZERBO (UJKZ)OuagadougouBurkina Faso
| | - Thierry Lefèvre
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
- MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CNRSMontpellierFrance
- Laboratoire Mixte International Sur les Vecteurs (LAMIVECT)Bobo‐DioulassoBurkina Faso
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2
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Lu A, Fukutomi M, Shidara H, Ogawa H. Persistence of auditory modulation of wind-induced escape behavior in crickets. Front Physiol 2023; 14:1153913. [PMID: 37250114 PMCID: PMC10214467 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1153913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals, including insects, change their innate escape behavior triggered by a specific threat stimulus depending on the environmental context to survive adaptively the predators' attack. This indicates that additional inputs from sensory organs of different modalities indicating surrounding conditions could affect the neuronal circuit responsible for the escape behavior. Field crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, exhibit an oriented running or jumping escape in response to short air puff detected by the abdominal mechanosensory organ called cerci. Crickets also receive a high-frequency acoustic stimulus by their tympanal organs on their frontal legs, which suggests approaching bats as a predator. We have reported that the crickets modulate their wind-elicited escape running in the moving direction when they are exposed to an acoustic stimulus preceded by the air puff. However, it remains unclear how long the effects of auditory inputs indicating surrounding contexts last after the sound is terminated. In this study, we applied a short pulse (200 ms) of 15-kHz pure tone to the crickets in various intervals before the air-puff stimulus. The sound given 200 or 1000 ms before the air puff biased the wind-elicited escape running backward, like the previous studies using the longer and overlapped sound. But the sounds that started 2000 ms before and simultaneously with the air puff had little effect. In addition, the jumping probability was higher only when the delay of air puff to the sound was 1000 ms. These results suggest that the cricket could retain the auditory memory for at least one second and alter the motion choice and direction of the wind-elicited escape behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anhua Lu
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Matasaburo Fukutomi
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Hisashi Shidara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Japan
| | - Hiroto Ogawa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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Shoenhard H, Jain RA, Granato M. The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) regulates zebrafish sensorimotor decision making via a genetically defined cluster of hindbrain neurons. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111790. [PMID: 36476852 PMCID: PMC9813870 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Decision making is a fundamental nervous system function that ranges widely in complexity and speed of execution. We previously established larval zebrafish as a model for sensorimotor decision making and identified the G-protein-coupled calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) to be critical for this process. Here, we report that CaSR functions in neurons to dynamically regulate the bias between two behavioral outcomes: escapes and reorientations. By employing a computational guided transgenic strategy, we identify a genetically defined neuronal cluster in the hindbrain as a key candidate site for CaSR function. Finally, we demonstrate that transgenic CaSR expression targeting this cluster consisting of a few hundred neurons shifts behavioral bias in wild-type animals and restores decision making deficits in CaSR mutants. Combined, our data provide a rare example of a G-protein-coupled receptor that biases vertebrate sensorimotor decision making via a defined neuronal cluster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Shoenhard
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Roshan A. Jain
- Department of Biology, Haverford College, Haverford, PA 19041, USA
| | - Michael Granato
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA,Lead contact,Correspondence:
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Fernandes AM, Mearns DS, Donovan JC, Larsch J, Helmbrecht TO, Kölsch Y, Laurell E, Kawakami K, Dal Maschio M, Baier H. Neural circuitry for stimulus selection in the zebrafish visual system. Neuron 2020; 109:805-822.e6. [PMID: 33357384 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
When navigating the environment, animals need to prioritize responses to the most relevant stimuli. Although a theoretical framework for selective visual attention exists, its circuit implementation has remained obscure. Here we investigated how larval zebrafish select between simultaneously presented visual stimuli. We found that a mix of winner-take-all (WTA) and averaging strategies best simulates behavioral responses. We identified two circuits whose activity patterns predict the relative saliencies of competing visual objects. Stimuli presented to only one eye are selected by WTA computation in the inner retina. Binocularly presented stimuli, on the other hand, are processed by reciprocal, bilateral connections between the nucleus isthmi (NI) and the tectum. This interhemispheric computation leads to WTA or averaging responses. Optogenetic stimulation and laser ablation of NI neurons disrupt stimulus selection and behavioral action selection. Thus, depending on the relative locations of competing stimuli, a combination of retinotectal and isthmotectal circuits enables selective visual attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- António M Fernandes
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Duncan S Mearns
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Gradute School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU BioCenter, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Joseph C Donovan
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Johannes Larsch
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Thomas O Helmbrecht
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Gradute School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU BioCenter, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Yvonne Kölsch
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Gradute School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU BioCenter, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Eva Laurell
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Koichi Kawakami
- Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - Marco Dal Maschio
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Herwig Baier
- Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
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5
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Wexler LR, Miller RM, Portman DS. C. elegans Males Integrate Food Signals and Biological Sex to Modulate State-Dependent Chemosensation and Behavioral Prioritization. Curr Biol 2020; 30:2695-2706.e4. [PMID: 32531276 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Dynamic integration of internal and external cues is essential for flexible, adaptive behavior. In C. elegans, biological sex and feeding state regulate expression of the food-associated chemoreceptor odr-10, contributing to plasticity in food detection and the decision between feeding and exploration. In adult hermaphrodites, odr-10 expression is high, but in well-fed adult males, odr-10 expression is low, promoting exploratory mate-searching behavior. Food-deprivation transiently activates male odr-10 expression, heightening food sensitivity and reducing food leaving. Here, we identify a neuroendocrine feedback loop that sex-specifically regulates odr-10 in response to food deprivation. In well-fed males, insulin-like (insulin/IGF-1 signaling [IIS]) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling repress odr-10 expression. Upon food deprivation, odr-10 is directly activated by DAF-16/FoxO, the canonical C. elegans IIS effector. The TGF-β ligand DAF-7 likely acts upstream of IIS and links feeding to odr-10 only in males, due in part to the male-specific expression of daf-7 in ASJ. Surprisingly, these responses to food deprivation are not triggered by internal metabolic cues but rather by the loss of sensory signals associated with food. When males are starved in the presence of inedible food, they become nutritionally stressed, but odr-10 expression remains low and exploratory behavior is suppressed less than in starved control males. Food signals are detected by a small number of sensory neurons whose activity non-autonomously regulates daf-7 expression, IIS, and odr-10. Thus, adult C. elegans males employ a neuroendocrine feedback loop that integrates food detection and genetic sex to dynamically modulate chemoreceptor expression and influence the feeding-versus-exploration decision.
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Abstract
This study explored the cultural differences in the false consensus effect (FCE) between Koreans and European Americans. Two studies adopted a traditional false consensus paradigm and investigated the relative magnitude of the FCE between the two cultures in three different categories of personal choices (Study 1) and behavioral choices involving hypothetical conflict situations (Study 2). The FCE was observed in both the cultures and the effect tended to be stronger among Koreans than European Americans. However, the results from Study 1 also demonstrated that this cultural effect depends on the domain of choices. Cultural implications were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Incheol Choi
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Oona Cha
- School of Business Administration, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
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Lee CR, Yonk AJ, Wiskerke J, Paradiso KG, Tepper JM, Margolis DJ. Opposing Influence of Sensory and Motor Cortical Input on Striatal Circuitry and Choice Behavior. Curr Biol 2019; 29:1313-1323.e5. [PMID: 30982651 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The striatum is the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia and is a key site of sensorimotor integration. While the striatum receives extensive excitatory afferents from the cerebral cortex, the influence of different cortical areas on striatal circuitry and behavior is unknown. Here, we find that corticostriatal inputs from whisker-related primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortex differentially innervate projection neurons and interneurons in the dorsal striatum and exert opposing effects on sensory-guided behavior. Optogenetic stimulation of S1-corticostriatal afferents in ex vivo recordings produced larger postsynaptic potentials in striatal parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons than D1- or D2-expressing spiny projection neurons (SPNs), an effect not observed for M1-corticostriatal afferents. Critically, in vivo optogenetic stimulation of S1-corticostriatal afferents produced task-specific behavioral inhibition, which was bidirectionally modulated by striatal PV interneurons. Optogenetic stimulation of M1 afferents produced the opposite behavioral effect. Thus, our results suggest opposing roles for sensory and motor cortex in behavioral choice via distinct influences on striatal circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian R Lee
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alex J Yonk
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Joost Wiskerke
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Kenneth G Paradiso
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - James M Tepper
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - David J Margolis
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
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Zhao Z, Ma L, Wang Y, Qin L. A comparison of neural responses in the primary auditory cortex, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex of cats during auditory discrimination tasks. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:785-798. [PMID: 30649979 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00425.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Discriminating biologically relevant sounds is crucial for survival. The neurophysiological mechanisms that mediate this process must register both the reward significance and the physical parameters of acoustic stimuli. Previous experiments have revealed that the primary function of the auditory cortex (AC) is to provide a neural representation of the acoustic parameters of sound stimuli. However, how the brain associates acoustic signals with reward remains unresolved. The amygdala (AMY) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) play keys role in emotion and learning, but it is unknown whether AMY and mPFC neurons are involved in sound discrimination or how the roles of AMY and mPFC neurons differ from those of AC neurons. To examine this, we recorded neural activity in the primary auditory cortex (A1), AMY, and mPFC of cats while they performed a Go/No-go task to discriminate sounds with different temporal patterns. We found that the activity of A1 neurons faithfully coded the temporal patterns of sound stimuli; this activity was not affected by the cats' behavioral choices. The neural representation of stimulus patterns decreased in the AMY, but the neural activity increased when the cats were preparing to discriminate the sound stimuli and waiting for reward. Neural activity in the mPFC did not represent sound patterns, but it showed a clear association with reward and was modulated by the cats' behavioral choices. Our results indicate that the initial auditory representation in A1 is gradually transformed into a stimulus-reward association in the AMY and mPFC to ultimately generate a behavioral choice. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We compared the characteristics of neural activities of primary auditory cortex (A1), amygdala (AMY), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) while cats were performing the same auditory discrimination task. Our results show that there is a gradual transformation of the neural code from a faithful temporal representation of the stimulus in A1, which is insensitive to behavioral choices, to an association with the predictive reward in AMY and mPFC, which, to some extent, is correlated with the animal's behavioral choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenling Zhao
- Jinan Biomedicine R&D Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China
| | - Lanlan Ma
- Department of Physiology, School of Life Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yifei Wang
- Jinan Biomedicine R&D Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University , Guangzhou , People's Republic of China
| | - Ling Qin
- Department of Physiology, School of Life Science, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China
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Vorontsov DD, Dyakonova VE. Light-dark decision making in snails: Do preceding light conditions matter? Commun Integr Biol 2017; 10:e1356515. [PMID: 29260801 PMCID: PMC5731513 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2017.1356515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 07/01/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We have recently demonstrated that preceding motor activity can facilitate decision-making not only in humans and mammals but also in molluscs.5 In the behavioral paradigm used, snails Lymnaea stagnalis were removed from their natural environment (water) and placed in a dry, asymmetrically lit arena from which they had to decide which way to go in order to reach an aquatic environment. One possible explanation of the observed effects of preceding motor activity was that it could affect the snail's memory of light conditions that corresponded to its previous aquatic habitat. Here we report experimental results discarding this hypothesis. We suggest that preceding intense locomotion is likely to facilitate decision-making by increasing the level of confidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. D. Vorontsov
- Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - V. E. Dyakonova
- Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Hao ZZ, Berkowitz A. Shared Components of Rhythm Generation for Locomotion and Scratching Exist Prior to Motoneurons. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 11:54. [PMID: 28848402 PMCID: PMC5554521 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Does the spinal cord use a single network to generate locomotor and scratching rhythms or two separate networks? Previous research showed that simultaneous swim and scratch stimulation (“dual stimulation”) in immobilized, spinal turtles evokes a single rhythm in hindlimb motor nerves with a frequency often greater than during swim stimulation alone or scratch stimulation alone. This suggests that the signals that trigger swimming and scratching converge and are integrated within the spinal cord. However, these results could not determine whether the integration occurs in motoneurons themselves or earlier, in spinal interneurons. Here, we recorded intracellularly from hindlimb motoneurons during dual stimulation. Motoneuron membrane potentials displayed regular oscillations at a higher frequency during dual stimulation than during swim or scratch stimulation alone. In contrast, arithmetic addition of the oscillations during swimming alone and scratching alone with various delays always generated irregular oscillations. Also, the standard deviation of the phase-normalized membrane potential during dual stimulation was similar to those during swimming or scratching alone. In contrast, the standard deviation was greater when pooling cycles of swimming alone and scratching alone for two of the three forms of scratching. This shows that dual stimulation generates a single rhythm prior to motoneurons. Thus, either swimming and scratching largely share a rhythm generator or the two rhythms are integrated into one rhythm by strong interactions among interneurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao-Zhe Hao
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, NormanOK, United States.,Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma, NormanOK, United States
| | - Ari Berkowitz
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, NormanOK, United States.,Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma, NormanOK, United States
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Jovanic T, Schneider-Mizell CM, Shao M, Masson JB, Denisov G, Fetter RD, Mensh BD, Truman JW, Cardona A, Zlatic M. Competitive Disinhibition Mediates Behavioral Choice and Sequences in Drosophila. Cell 2016; 167:858-870.e19. [PMID: 27720450 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Even a simple sensory stimulus can elicit distinct innate behaviors and sequences. During sensorimotor decisions, competitive interactions among neurons that promote distinct behaviors must ensure the selection and maintenance of one behavior, while suppressing others. The circuit implementation of these competitive interactions is still an open question. By combining comprehensive electron microscopy reconstruction of inhibitory interneuron networks, modeling, electrophysiology, and behavioral studies, we determined the circuit mechanisms that contribute to the Drosophila larval sensorimotor decision to startle, explore, or perform a sequence of the two in response to a mechanosensory stimulus. Together, these studies reveal that, early in sensory processing, (1) reciprocally connected feedforward inhibitory interneurons implement behavioral choice, (2) local feedback disinhibition provides positive feedback that consolidates and maintains the chosen behavior, and (3) lateral disinhibition promotes sequence transitions. The combination of these interconnected circuit motifs can implement both behavior selection and the serial organization of behaviors into a sequence.
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12
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Fenk LA, de Bono M. Environmental CO2 inhibits Caenorhabditis elegans egg-laying by modulating olfactory neurons and evokes widespread changes in neural activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:E3525-34. [PMID: 26100886 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1423808112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) gradients are ubiquitous and provide animals with information about their environment, such as the potential presence of prey or predators. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans avoids elevated CO2, and previous work identified three neuron pairs called "BAG," "AFD," and "ASE" that respond to CO2 stimuli. Using in vivo Ca(2+) imaging and behavioral analysis, we show that C. elegans can detect CO2 independently of these sensory pathways. Many of the C. elegans sensory neurons we examined, including the AWC olfactory neurons, the ASJ and ASK gustatory neurons, and the ASH and ADL nociceptors, respond to a rise in CO2 with a rise in Ca(2+). In contrast, glial sheath cells harboring the sensory endings of C. elegans' major chemosensory neurons exhibit strong and sustained decreases in Ca(2+) in response to high CO2. Some of these CO2 responses appear to be cell intrinsic. Worms therefore may couple detection of CO2 to that of other cues at the earliest stages of sensory processing. We show that C. elegans persistently suppresses oviposition at high CO2. Hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSNs), the executive neurons driving egg-laying, are tonically inhibited when CO2 is elevated. CO2 modulates the egg-laying system partly through the AWC olfactory neurons: High CO2 tonically activates AWC by a cGMP-dependent mechanism, and AWC output inhibits the HSNs. Our work shows that CO2 is a more complex sensory cue for C. elegans than previously thought, both in terms of behavior and neural circuitry.
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Yang HH, Clandinin TR. What can fruit flies teach us about karate? eLife 2014; 3:e04040. [PMID: 25139958 PMCID: PMC4136469 DOI: 10.7554/elife.04040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the logic behind how a fruit fly's brain tells it to groom its body parts in a stereotyped order might help us understand other behaviours that also involve a series of actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen H Yang
- Helen H Yang is in the Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
| | - Thomas R Clandinin
- Thomas R Clandinin is in the Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
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Seeds AM, Ravbar P, Chung P, Hampel S, Midgley FM, Mensh BD, Simpson JH. A suppression hierarchy among competing motor programs drives sequential grooming in Drosophila. eLife 2014; 3:e02951. [PMID: 25139955 PMCID: PMC4136539 DOI: 10.7554/elife.02951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Motor sequences are formed through the serial execution of different movements, but how nervous systems implement this process remains largely unknown. We determined the organizational principles governing how dirty fruit flies groom their bodies with sequential movements. Using genetically targeted activation of neural subsets, we drove distinct motor programs that clean individual body parts. This enabled competition experiments revealing that the motor programs are organized into a suppression hierarchy; motor programs that occur first suppress those that occur later. Cleaning one body part reduces the sensory drive to its motor program, which relieves suppression of the next movement, allowing the grooming sequence to progress down the hierarchy. A model featuring independently evoked cleaning movements activated in parallel, but selected serially through hierarchical suppression, was successful in reproducing the grooming sequence. This provides the first example of an innate motor sequence implemented by the prevailing model for generating human action sequences. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02951.001 Anyone who has ever lived with a cat is familiar with its grooming behavior. This innate behavior follows a particular sequence as the cat methodically cleans its body parts one-by-one. Many animals also have grooming habits, even insects such as fruit flies. The fact that grooming sequences are seen across such different species suggests that this behavior is important for survival. Nevertheless, how the brain organizes grooming sequences, or other behaviors that involve a sequence of tasks, is not well understood. Fruit flies make a good model for studying grooming behavior for a couple of reasons. First, they are fastidious cleaners. When coated with dust they will faithfully carry out a series of cleaning tasks to clean each body part. Second, there are many genetic tools and techniques that researchers can use to manipulate the fruit flies' behaviors. One technique allows specific brain cells to be targeted and activated to trigger particular behaviors. Seeds et al. used these sophisticated techniques, computer modeling, and behavioral observations to uncover how the brains of fruit flies orchestrate a grooming sequence. Dust-covered flies follow a predictable sequence of cleaning tasks: beginning by using their front legs to clean their eyes, they then clean their antennae and head. This likely helps to protect their sensory organs. Next, they move on to the abdomen, possibly to ensure that dust doesn't interfere with their ability to breathe. Wings and thorax follow last. Periodically, the flies stop to rub their legs together to remove any accumulated dust before resuming the cleaning sequence. Seeds et al. activated different sets of brain cells one-by-one to see if they could trigger a particular grooming task and found that individual cleaning tasks could be triggered, in the absence of dust, by stimulating a specific group of brain cells. This suggests each cleaning task is a discrete behavior controlled by a subset of cells. Then Seeds et al. tried to stimulate more than one cleaning behavior at a time; they discovered that wing-cleaning suppressed thorax-cleaning, abdomen-cleaning suppressed both of these, and head-cleaning suppressed all the others. This suggests that a ‘hierarchy’ exists in the brain that exactly matches the sequence that flies normally follow as they clean their body parts. By learning more about how the brain coordinates grooming sequences, the findings of Seeds et al. may also provide insights into other behaviors that involve a sequence of tasks, such as nest building in animals or typing in humans. Following on from this work, one of the next challenges will be to see if such behaviors also use a ‘suppression hierarchy’ to ensure that individual tasks are carried out in the right order. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02951.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Seeds
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Primoz Ravbar
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Phuong Chung
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Stefanie Hampel
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Frank M Midgley
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Brett D Mensh
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Julie H Simpson
- Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
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Abstract
The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is an aquatic predator that utilizes water waves to locate its prey. However, to reach their prey, the leeches must move within the same water that they are using to sense prey. This requires that they either move ballistically towards a pre-determined prey location or that they account for their self-movement and continually track prey. We found that leeches do not localize prey ballistically. Instead, they require continual sensory information to track their prey. Indeed, in the event that the prey moves, leeches will approach the prey's new location. While leeches need to continually sense water disturbances to update their percept of prey location, their own behavior is discontinuous--prey involves switching between swimming, crawling and non-locomoting. Each of these behaviors may allow for different sensory capabilities and may require different sensory filters. Here, we examined the sensory capabilities of leeches during each of these behaviors. We found that while one could expect the non-locomoting phases to direct subsequent behaviors, crawling phases were more effective than non-locomotor phases for providing direction. During crawling bouts, leeches adjusted their heading so as to become more directed towards the stimulus. This was not observed during swimming. Furthermore, in the presence of prey-like stimuli, leeches crawled more often and for longer periods of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia M Harley
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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16
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Abstract
One of the most important decisions animals have to make is how to respond to an attack from a potential predator. The response must be prompt and appropriate to ensure survival. Invertebrates have been important models in studying the underlying neurobiology of the escape response due to their accessible nervous systems and easily quantifiable behavioral output. Moreover, invertebrates provide opportunities for investigating these processes at a level of analysis not available in most other organisms. Recently, there has been a renewed focus in understanding how value-based calculations are made on the level of the nervous system, i.e., when decisions are made under conflicting circumstances, and the most desirable choice must be selected by weighing the costs and benefits for each behavioral choice. This article reviews samples from the current literature on anti-predator decision making in invertebrates, from single neurons to complex behaviors. Recent progress in understanding the mechanisms underlying value-based behavioral decisions is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Herberholz
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
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17
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Abstract
The decision to feed is a complex task that requires making several small independent choices. Am I hungry? Where do I look for food? Is there something better I'd rather be doing? When should I stop? With all of these questions, it is no wonder that decisions about feeding depend on several sensory modalities and that the influences of these sensory systems would be evident throughout the nervous system. The leech is uniquely well suited for studying these complicated questions due to its relatively simple nervous system, its exceptionally well-characterized behaviors and neural circuits, and the ease with which one can employ semi-intact preparations to study the link between physiology and decision-making. We will begin this review by discussing the cellular substrates that govern the decision to initiate and to terminate a bout of feeding. We will then discuss how feeding temporarily blocks competing behaviors from being expressed while the animal continues to feed. Then we will review what is currently known about how feeding affects long-term behavioral choices of the leech. Finally, we conclude with a short discussion of the advantages of the leech's decision-making circuit's design and how this design might be applicable to all decision circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Gaudry
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA
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18
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Mesce KA, Pierce-Shimomura JT. Shared Strategies for Behavioral Switching: Understanding How Locomotor Patterns are Turned on and Off. Front Behav Neurosci 2010; 4. [PMID: 20721315 PMCID: PMC2922966 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2010] [Accepted: 07/12/2010] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals frequently switch from one behavior to another, often to meet the demands of their changing environment or internal state. What factors control these behavioral switches and the selection of what to do or what not to do? To address these issues, we will focus on the locomotor behaviors of two distantly related “worms,” the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana (clade Lophotrochozoa) and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (clade Ecdysozoa). Although the neural architecture and body morphology of these organisms are quite distinct, they appear to switch between different forms of locomotion by using similar strategies of decision-making. For example, information that distinguishes between liquid and more solid environments dictates whether an animal swims or crawls. In the leech, dopamine biases locomotor neural networks so that crawling is turned on and swimming is turned off. In C. elegans, dopamine may also promote crawling, a form of locomotion that has gained new attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen A Mesce
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Departments of Entomology and Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Saint Paul, MN, USA
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Berkowitz A, Roberts A, Soffe SR. Roles for multifunctional and specialized spinal interneurons during motor pattern generation in tadpoles, zebrafish larvae, and turtles. Front Behav Neurosci 2010; 4:36. [PMID: 20631847 PMCID: PMC2903196 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2010] [Accepted: 05/31/2010] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The hindbrain and spinal cord can produce multiple forms of locomotion, escape, and withdrawal behaviors and (in limbed vertebrates) site-specific scratching. Until recently, the prevailing view was that the same classes of central nervous system neurons generate multiple kinds of movements, either through reconfiguration of a single, shared network or through an increase in the number of neurons recruited within each class. The mechanisms involved in selecting and generating different motor patterns have recently been explored in detail in some non-mammalian, vertebrate model systems. Work on the hatchling Xenopus tadpole, the larval zebrafish, and the adult turtle has now revealed that distinct kinds of motor patterns are actually selected and generated by combinations of multifunctional and specialized spinal interneurons. Multifunctional interneurons may form a core, multipurpose circuit that generates elements of coordinated motor output utilized in multiple behaviors, such as left-right alternation. But, in addition, specialized spinal interneurons including separate glutamatergic and glycinergic classes are selectively activated during specific patterns: escape-withdrawal, swimming and struggling in tadpoles and zebrafish, and limb withdrawal and scratching in turtles. These specialized neurons can contribute by changing the way central pattern generator (CPG) activity is initiated and by altering CPG composition and operation. The combined use of multifunctional and specialized neurons is now established as a principle of organization across a range of vertebrates. Future research may reveal common patterns of multifunctionality and specialization among interneurons controlling diverse movements and whether similar mechanisms exist in higher-order brain circuits that select among a wider array of complex movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ari Berkowitz
- Department of Zoology, University of OklahomaNorman, OK, USA
| | - Alan Roberts
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBristol, UK
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Shaw BK, Kristan WB. The neuronal basis of the behavioral choice between swimming and shortening in the leech: control is not selectively exercised at higher circuit levels. J Neurosci 1997; 17:786-95. [PMID: 8987800 PMCID: PMC6573222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Swimming and the whole-body shortening reflex are two incompatible behaviors performed by the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis. We set out to examine the neuronal basis of the choice between these behaviors, taking advantage of the fact that the neuronal circuit underlying swimming is relatively well understood. The leech swim circuit is organized hierarchically and contains three interneuronal levels, including two upper levels of "command-like" neurons. We tested the responses of the swim circuit neurons to stimuli that produced shortening, using reduced preparations in which neurophysiological recording could be performed while behaviors were elicited. We found that the majority of the swim circuit neurons, including most of the command-like cells and all of the cells at the highest hierarchical level of the circuit, were excited by stimuli that produced shortening as well as by stimuli that produced swimming. Only a subset of neurons, at levels below the top, were inhibited during shortening; these included one of the command-like cells and an oscillator cell (an interneuron that is part of the central pattern generator for swimming). These results imply that the control of the choice between swimming and shortening is not exercised selectively at the higher levels of the swim circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- B K Shaw
- Department of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0357, USA
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