Abstract
During navigation, the brain must continuously integrate external guidance cues with internal spatial maps to update steering commands. However, it has been difficult to link spatial maps with motor control. Here we identify descending “steering” neurons in the Drosophila brain that lie two synapses downstream from the brain’s heading direction map in the central complex. These steering neurons predict behavioral turns caused by microstimulation of the spatial map. Moreover, these neurons receive “direct” sensory input that bypasses the central complex, and they predict steering evoked by multimodal stimuli. Unilateral activation of these neurons can promote turning, while bilateral silencing interferes with body and leg movements. In short, these neurons combine internal maps with external cues to predict and influence steering. They represent a key link between cognitive maps, which use an abstract coordinate frame, and motor commands, which use a body-centric coordinate frame.
