serval:BIB_A6B578E1EFE3
Fluctuation-Driven Neural Dynamics Reproduce Drosophila Locomotor Patterns.
10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004577
000365801600035
26600381
Maesani
A.
author
Ramdya
P.
author
Cruchet
S.
author
Gustafson
K.
author
Benton
R.
author
Floreano
D.
author
article
2015
Plos Computational Biology
1553-7358
1553-734X
journal
11
11
e1004577
The neural mechanisms determining the timing of even simple actions, such as when to walk or rest, are largely mysterious. One intriguing, but untested, hypothesis posits a role for ongoing activity fluctuations in neurons of central action selection circuits that drive animal behavior from moment to moment. To examine how fluctuating activity can contribute to action timing, we paired high-resolution measurements of freely walking Drosophila melanogaster with data-driven neural network modeling and dynamical systems analysis. We generated fluctuation-driven network models whose outputs-locomotor bouts-matched those measured from sensory-deprived Drosophila. From these models, we identified those that could also reproduce a second, unrelated dataset: the complex time-course of odor-evoked walking for genetically diverse Drosophila strains. Dynamical models that best reproduced both Drosophila basal and odor-evoked locomotor patterns exhibited specific characteristics. First, ongoing fluctuations were required. In a stochastic resonance-like manner, these fluctuations allowed neural activity to escape stable equilibria and to exceed a threshold for locomotion. Second, odor-induced shifts of equilibria in these models caused a depression in locomotor frequency following olfactory stimulation. Our models predict that activity fluctuations in action selection circuits cause behavioral output to more closely match sensory drive and may therefore enhance navigation in complex sensory environments. Together these data reveal how simple neural dynamics, when coupled with activity fluctuations, can give rise to complex patterns of animal behavior.
Animals
Behavior, Animal/physiology
Cluster Analysis
Computational Biology
Drosophila melanogaster/physiology
Locomotion/physiology
Models, Neurological
Neurons/physiology
Olfactory Perception/physiology
eng
60_published
true
peer-reviewed
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Publication Status: epublish
University of Lausanne
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