Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour
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Abstract
For many species, hunting is an innate behaviour that is crucial for survival, yet the circuits that control predatory action sequences are poorly understood. We used larval zebrafish to identify a population of pretectal neurons that control hunting. By combining calcium imaging with a virtual hunting assay, we identified a discrete pretectal region that is selectively active when animals initiate hunting. Targeted genetic labelling allowed us to examine the function and morphology of individual cells and identify two classes of pretectal neuron that project to ipsilateral optic tectum or the contralateral tegmentum. Optogenetic stimulation of single neurons of either class was able to induce sustained hunting sequences, in the absence of prey. Furthermore, laser ablation of these neurons impaired prey-catching and prevented induction of hunting by optogenetic stimulation of the anterior-ventral tectum. We propose that this specific population of pretectal neurons functions as a command system to induce predatory behaviour.
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Neural 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 [106]
The Results section ('AF7-pretectal neurons are labelled by the KalTA4u508 transgene'; page unavailable) describes projections to the optic tectum, cerebellum, and midbrain and hindbrain motor regions. The Discussion ('Neural circuitry controlling visually guided hunting'; page unavailable) links retinal, pretectal, and tectal processing to visually guided hunting. The paper does not establish the claimed sensorimotor forebrain circuits or a general circuit account of egocentric orientation across teleost fish; its evidence concerns hunting in larval zebrafish. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Cites
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“…of discrete orienting turns and approach swims, which culminate in binocular fixation of prey followed by a kinematically distinct capture swim (Borla et al., 2002; McElligott and O’malley, 2005; Bianco et al., 2011; Patterson et al., 2013; Trivedi and Bollmann, 2013; Marques et al., 2018).”
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- Authors
- Antinucci, P., Folgueira, M., & Bianco, I. H.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Universidade da Coruña (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Antinucci, Paride
- Folgueira, Mónica
- Bianco, Isaac H
- Venue
- eLife
- Publisher
- eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
- Published
- 2019-10-08
- Volume
- 8
- ISSN
- 2050-084X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6783268
- OpenAlex
- W2980060410
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 5.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- eLife (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- RUC (Universidade Da Coruña) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Wellcome (Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, 101195/Z/13/Z, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship, 204708/Z/16/Z)
- University College London (Excellence Fellowship)
- Royal Society (Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, 101195/Z/13/Z)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Keywords
- hunting behavior, zebrafish larvae, predatory behavior, optic tectum, tegmentum, neural circuits, command neurons, optogenetic stimulation, laser ablation, innate behavior
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain Mapping, Neural Pathways, Neurons, Predatory Behavior, Staining and Labeling, Zebrafish, Optical Imaging, Optogenetics, Pretectal Region
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