RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Decentralised Neural Model Explaining Optimal Integration Of Navigational Strategies in Insects
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 856153
DO 10.1101/856153
A1 Xuelong Sun
A1 Shigang Yue
A1 Michael Mangan
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/05/856153.abstract
AB Robust insect navigation arises from the coordinated action of concurrent guidance systems but the neural mechanisms through which they function, and are coordinated, remain unknown. Our analysis suggests that insects require distinct visual homing and route following strategies which we propose use different aspects of frequency encoded views and different neural pathways: Mushroom Bodies for visual homing and Anterior Optic Tubercles for route following. We then demonstrate how the Central Complex and Mushroom Bodies work in tandem to coordinate the directional output of different guidance cues through contextually switched ring-attractor circuits inspired by neural recordings. The resultant unified model of insect navigation reproduces behavioral data from a series of cue conflict experiments in realistic animal environments and offers testable hypotheses of where and how insect process visual cues, utilise the different information provided and coordinate their outputs to achieve the adaptive behaviours observed in the wild.