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Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing.

ABSTRACT: Some animals are attracted by sun light, others are highly repulsed by it. Especially for slowly moving animals, such as Drosophila larvae, direct sunlight may be perceived as noxious stimulus as it increases the risk of desiccation, DNA-damaging by UV-light and exposure to predators. For several reasons, model organisms like Drosophila larvae are well-suited for investigating how light cues are translated into an appropriate behavioral output. First, many of the genetic tools, which were created for use in adult fruit flies, work also in larvae. Second, the lower number of cells in Drosophila larvae compared to adults makes this system adequate for reconstructing neural circuits. Third, the relatively simple behavioral repertoire of larvae facilitates the study of basic functions like navigation with regards to light. Larvae navigate robustly away from a light source by the use of several sophisticated behavioral strategies which are based on temporal or spatial information processing. Two central brain neurons, the NP394-neurons, are highly important for larval light avoidance. It was even reported that these cells seem to play a functional role in a putative larval light preference switch right before pupation. However, the exact function of the NP394-neurons in light navigation remains unknown. We here show that the functional role of NP394-neurons in larval light navigation is restricted to behaviors based on temporal information processing, but not for spatial navigation.

SUBMITTER: Humberg TH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6289971 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background:In the classical psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, two stimuli are presented in brief succession, and participants are asked to make separate speeded responses to both stimuli. Due to a central cognitive bottleneck, responses to the second stimulus are delayed, especially at short stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between the two stimuli. Although the mechanisms of dual-task interference in the classical PRP paradigm have been extensively investigated, specific mechanisms underlying the cross-modal PRP paradigm are not well understood. In particular, it remains unknown whether the dominance of vision over audition manifests in the cross-modal PRP tasks. The present study aimed to investigate whether the visual dominance effect manifests in the cross-modal PRP paradigm. Methods:We adapted the classical PRP paradigm by manipulating the order of a visual and an auditory task: the visual task could either precede the auditory task or vice versa, at either short or long SOAs. Twenty-five healthy participants took part in Experiment 1, and thirty-three new participants took part in Experiment 2. Reaction time and accuracy data were calculated and further analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results:The results showed that visual precedence in the Visual-Auditory condition caused larger impairments to the subsequent auditory processing than vice versa in the Auditory-Visual condition: a larger delay of second response was revealed in the Visual-Auditory condition (135 ± 10 ms) than the Auditory-Visual condition (88 ± 9 ms). This effect was found only at the short SOAs under the existence of the central bottleneck, but not at the long SOAs. Moreover, this effect occurred both when the single visual and the single auditory task were of equal difficulty in Experiment 1 and when the single auditory task was more difficult than the single visual task in Experiment 2. Conclusion:Results of the two experiments suggested that the visual dominance effect occurred under the central bottleneck of cognitive processing.

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Two Pairs of Drosophila Central Brain Neurons Mediate Larval Navigational Strategies Based on Temporal Light Information Processing.

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