PreprintCited by 167Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsVestibular and auditory disorders

The neuroanatomical ultrastructure and function of a biological ring attractor

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Turner-Evans, Daniel B., Jensen, Kristopher T., Ali, Saba, Paterson, Tyler, Sheridan, Arlo, Ray, Robert P., Wolff, Tanya, Lauritzen, Scott +3 more·2019·Neuron

Preprint — published as 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.08.006 · Paper page

Abstract

Neural representations of head direction have been discovered in many species. A large body of theoretical work has proposed that the dynamics associated with these representations is generated, maintained, and updated by recurrent network structures called ring attractors. We performed electron microscopy-based circuit reconstruction and RNA profiling of identified cell types in the heading direction system of Drosophila melanogaster to directly determine the underlying neural network. We identified network motifs that have been hypothesized to maintain the heading representation in darkness, update it when the animal turns, and tether it to visual cues. Functional studies provided additional support for the proposed roles of individual circuit elements. We also discovered recurrent connections between neuronal arbors with mixed pre- and post-synaptic specializations. Overall, our results confirm that the Drosophila heading direction network contains the core components of a ring attractor while also revealing unpredicted structural features that might enhance the network’s computational power.

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Crossref · 10.1101/847152

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134 of 134 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Compartments of PEN2 neurons in the protocerebral bridge respond entirely differently from their compartments in the ellipsoid body.

    “Similarly, compartments of PEN2 neurons in the protocerebral bridge have been shown to respond entirely differently from their compartments in the ellipsoid body (Green et al., 2017; Turner-Evans et al., 2019).”

    From A connectome and analysis of the adult Drosophila central brain (2020) · cites this paper as Turner-Evans et al., 2019

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Authors
Turner-Evans, D. B., Jensen, K. T., Ali, S., Paterson, T., Sheridan, A., Ray, R. P., Wolff, T., Lauritzen, S., Rubin, G. M., Bock, D., & Jayaraman, V.
Affiliations
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
  • University of Vermont (US)
Corresponding author
Jayaraman, Vivek
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
openRxiv
Published
2019-11-20
Volume
108
Issue
1
Pages
145-163.e10
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3084308099
Cited by
166
References
135
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 3
FWCI
8.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institute of Mental Health (RF1MH120679)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
Keywords
ring attractor, Drosophila melanogaster, recurrent neural circuits, circuit reconstruction, RNA profiling, neuronal ultrastructure, visual cue integration, synaptic specializations
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Drosophila melanogaster, Microscopy, Electron, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Neurons, Synapses, Visual Pathways, Microscopy, Confocal, Head Movements, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton, Spatial Navigation

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