Rien, D., Kern, R. and Kurtz, R. (2013) Octopaminergic modulation of a fly visual motion-sensitive neuron during stimulation with naturalistic optic flow. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 7. 155. ISSN 1662-5153
Abstract
In a variety of species locomotor activity, like walking or flying, has been demonstrated to alter visual information processing. The neuromodulator octopamine was shown to change the response characteristics of optic flow processing neurons in the fly's visual system in a similar way as locomotor activity. This modulation resulted in enhanced neuronal responses, in particular during sustained stimulation with high temporal frequencies, and in shorter latencies of responses to abrupt onsets of pattern motion. These state-dependent changes were interpreted to adjust neuronal tuning to the range of high velocities encountered during locomotion. Here we assess the significance of these changes for the processing of optic flow as experienced during flight. Naturalistic image sequences were reconstructed based on measurements of the head position and gaze direction of Calliphora vicina flying in an arena. We recorded the responses of the V1 neuron during presentation of these image sequences on a panoramic stimulus device (“FliMax”). Consistent with previous accounts, we found that spontaneous as well as stimulus-induced spike rates were increased by an octopamine agonist and decreased by an antagonist. Moreover, a small but consistent decrease in response latency upon octopaminergic activation was present, which might support fast responses to optic flow cues and limit instabilities during closed-loop optomotor regulation. However, apart from these effects the similarities between the dynamic response properties in the different pharmacologically induced states were surprisingly high, indicating that the processing of naturalistic optic flow is not fundamentally altered by octopaminergic modulation.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2013 Rien, Kern and Kurtz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Keywords: | neuromodulation; octopamine; state dependence; visual motion processing; invertebrate; natural stimuli; optic flow |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Biomedical Science (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Dec 2016 15:28 |
Last Modified: | 20 Dec 2016 15:28 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00155 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00155 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108226 |