Cited by 274Zebrafish Biomedical Research ApplicationsNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchMotor Control and Adaptation

Control of visually guided behavior by distinct populations of spinal projection neurons

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Orger, Michael B, Kampff, Adam R, Severi, Kristen E, Bollmann, Johann H, Engert, Florian·2008·Nature Neuroscience

Abstract

A basic question in the field of motor control is how different actions are represented by activity in spinal projection neurons. We used a new behavioral assay to identify visual stimuli that specifically drive basic motor patterns in zebrafish. These stimuli evoked consistent patterns of neural activity in the neurons projecting to the spinal cord, which we could map throughout the entire population using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. We found that stimuli that drive distinct behaviors activated distinct subsets of projection neurons, consisting, in some cases, of just a few cells. This stands in contrast to the distributed activation seen for more complex behaviors. Furthermore, targeted cell by cell ablations of the neurons associated with evoked turns abolished the corresponding behavioral response. This description of the functional organization of the zebrafish motor system provides a framework for identifying the complete circuit underlying a vertebrate behavior.

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  • In a survey of reticulospinal activity, the nMLF was the strongest group responding to visual stimuli that drive forward swimming.

    “In a survey of RS activity in response to visual stimuli driving the OMR (Orger et al., 2008), the most prominent group activated by visual stimulation that specifically elicits forward-directed locomotion was found in the nMLF”

    From Neural control and modulation of swimming speed in the larval zebrafish (2014) · cites this paper as Orger et al., 2008

  • Ventral P and RP RSNs are symmetrically active for forward bouts and asymmetrically active during turns.

    “Our decomposition analysis into motor components revealed that these ventral P and RP RSNs are symmetrically active for forward bouts and asymmetrically active during turns57.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [1]1. Orlovsky, GN.; Deliagina, TG.; Grillner, S. Neuronal Control of Locomotion. Oxford University Press; New York: 1999.
  2. [7]7. Saint-Amant L, Drapeau P. Time course of the development of motor behaviors in the zebrafish embryo. J. Neurobiol 1998;37:622-632. [PubMed: 9858263]
  3. [32]32. Bizzi E, d'Avella A, Saltiel P, Tresch M. Modular organization of spinal motor systems. Neuroscientist 2002;8:437-442. [PubMed: 12374428]

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Authors
Orger, M. B., Kampff, A. R., Severi, K. E., Bollmann, J. H., & Engert, F.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Northeastern University (US)
Corresponding author
Orger, Michael B
Venue
Nature Neuroscience
Published
2008-02-10
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
327-333
ISSN
  • 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-1726
OpenAlex
W2133507210
Cited by
274
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 13
FWCI
7.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
  • McKnight Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Eye Institute (R01EY014429)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
Keywords
motor control, visually guided behavior, zebrafish, neural circuits, behavioral assays, two-photon calcium imaging
MeSH terms
Action Potentials, Animals, Axons, Brain Stem, Calcium, Denervation, Efferent Pathways, Fluorescent Dyes, Indicators and Reagents, Functional Laterality, Locomotion, Nerve Net, Neurons, Orientation, Psychomotor Performance, Reticular Formation, Spinal Cord, Staining and Labeling, Swimming, Visual Pathways, Zebrafish, Models, Animal

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