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Cited by 10Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchVisual perception and processing mechanismsCell Image Analysis Techniques

Identifying Inputs to Visual Projection Neurons in Drosophila Lobula by Analyzing Connectomic Data

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Tanaka (田中涼介), Ryosuke, Clark, Damon A.·2022·eneuro
DOI 10.1523/eneuro.0053-22.2022PMC PMC9034759

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Abstract

Abstract Electron microscopy-based connectomes provide important insights into how visual circuitry of fruit fly Drosophila computes various visual features, guiding and complementing behavioral and physiological studies. However, connectomic analyses of lobula, a putative center of object-like feature detection, remains underdeveloped, largely because of incomplete data on the inputs to the brain region. Here, we attempted to map the columnar inputs into the Drosophila lobula neuropil by performing connectivity- and morphology-based clustering on a densely reconstructed connectome dataset. While the dataset mostly lacked visual neuropils other than lobula, which would normally help identify inputs to lobula, our clustering analysis successfully extracted clusters of cells with homogeneous connectivity and morphology, likely representing genuine cell types. We were able to draw a correspondence between the resulting clusters and previously identified cell types, revealing previously undocumented connectivity between lobula input and output neurons. While future, more complete connectomic reconstructions are necessary to verify the results presented here, they can serve as a useful basis for formulating hypotheses on mechanisms of visual feature detection in lobula.

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  • LC types involved in non-social behaviours (LC4, LC6, LPLC1 and LPLC2) participate in encoding the movements of the female and driving the courtship actions of the male.

    “Even LC types involved in non-social behaviours (for example, escape), such as LC4, LC6, LPLC1 and LPLC221,24,26,38–40, participate in encoding the movements of the female and driving the courtship actions of the male.”

    From Mapping model units to visual neurons reveals population code for social behaviour (2024) · cites this paper as [39]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) says LC6, LPLC1 and LPLC2 are sensitive to looming stimuli, supporting the citation’s characterization of those types as involved in non-social visual processing. The cited passages discuss LC4’s morphology but do not establish its non-social behavioral role or explicitly link these four types to escape. The statement about encoding female movements and driving male courtship appears to be the citing authors’ conclusion, not the part this citation supports. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Tanaka (田中涼介), R., & Clark, D. A.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Clark, Damon A.
ORCID
Venue
eneuro
Publisher
Society for Neuroscience
Published
2022-03
Volume
9
Issue
2
Pages
ENEURO.0053-22.2022
ISSN
2373-2822 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1523/eneuro.0053-22.2022
PMC
PMC9034759
OpenAlex
W4226018478
Cited by
10
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1
FWCI
0.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • eNeuro (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Gruber Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Eye Institute (R01EY026555, P30EY026878)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS121773)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Cell Image Analysis Techniques
Keywords
connectome, cell type annotation, visual feature detection
MeSH terms
Animals, Drosophila, Drosophila melanogaster, Neurons, Visual Pathways, Neuropil, Connectome

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