Brain-wide Organization of Neuronal Activity and Convergent Sensorimotor Transformations in Larval Zebrafish
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Abstract
Simultaneous recordings of large populations of neurons in behaving animals allow detailed observation of high-dimensional, complex brain activity. However, experimental approaches often focus on singular behavioral paradigms or brain areas. Here, we recorded whole-brain neuronal activity of larval zebrafish presented with a battery of visual stimuli while recording fictive motor output. We identified neurons tuned to each stimulus type and motor output and discovered groups of neurons in the anterior hindbrain that respond to different stimuli eliciting similar behavioral responses. These convergent sensorimotor representations were only weakly correlated to instantaneous motor activity, suggesting that they critically inform, but do not directly generate, behavioral choices. To catalog brain-wide activity beyond explicit sensorimotor processing, we developed an unsupervised clustering technique that organizes neurons into functional groups. These analyses enabled a broad overview of the functional organization of the brain and revealed numerous brain nuclei whose neurons exhibit concerted activity patterns.
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Output neurons in the intermediate and deep layers of the teleost optic tectum are able to initiate orientation or avoidance responses through their projections to the reticular formation and other pre-motor cell groups in the brainstem, which activate motoneurons in oculomotor nuclei and spinal cord that control orienting eye and body movements.
“the output neurons in the intermediate and deep layers of the teleost optic tectum are able to initiate orientation or avoidance responses through their projections to the reticular formation and other pre-motor cell groups in the brainstem, which in turn activate the motoneurons in the oculomotor nuclei and spinal cord that control orienting eye and body movements”
From Spatial Cognition in Teleost Fish: Strategies and Mechanisms (2021) · cites this paper as [109]
The Results sections on sensory-related neurons and multi-stimulus convergence report visual responses in the optic tectum and propose that anterior-hindbrain neurons transform midbrain sensory signals into turning biases. The Results also identify hindbrain motor-related neurons and oculomotor nuclei. They do not establish that output neurons in the tectum’s intermediate or deep layers project through the specified brainstem groups to initiate orienting or avoidance movements. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredNeural circuits involved in egocentric orientation in teleost fish include mainly several stages of the sensory and perceptual systems, some sensorimotor forebrain circuits, the optic tectum, the cerebellum, and various premotor centers and descending pathways in the brainstem and medulla.
“These neural circuits include mainly several stages of the sensory and perceptual systems, some sensorimotor forebrain circuits, the optic tectum, the cerebellum, and various premotor centers and descending pathways in the brainstem and medulla”
From Spatial Cognition in Teleost Fish: Strategies and Mechanisms (2021) · cites this paper as [109]
The Results sections on sensory- and motor-related neurons identify activity in the forebrain, optic tectum, cerebellum, and hindbrain, including reticulospinal neurons involved in turning. The Discussion describes sensory processing from forebrain to hindbrain and motor output in the posterior hindbrain. The paper studies visual sensorimotor responses in larval zebrafish; these passages do not establish the full list as circuits for egocentric orientation across teleost fish, or specifically identify medullary descending pathways. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Chen, X., Mu, Y., Hu, Y., Kuan, A. T., Nikitchenko, M., Randlett, O., Chen, A. B., Gavornik, J. P., Sompolinsky, H., Engert, F., & Ahrens, M. B.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Chen, Xiuye
- Ahrens, Misha B.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Neuron
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 876-890.e5
- ISSN
- 0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6543271
- OpenAlex
- W2953308498
- Cited by
- 199
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 10.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuron (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Gatsby Charitable Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (542973)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U01NS090449, U19NS104653)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- zebrafish larvae, sensorimotor transformation, visual stimuli, unsupervised clustering, brain functional organization, neural tuning, brain nuclei, behavioral choice
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Brain Chemistry, Larva, Motor Activity, Neurons, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Zebrafish, Animals, Genetically Modified, Optogenetics
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