PUBLICATION

Control of visually guided behavior by distinct populations of spinal projection neurons

Authors
Orger, M.B., Kampff, A.R., Severi, K.E., Bollmann, J.H., and Engert, F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-080227-17
Date
2008
Source
Nature Neuroscience   11(3): 327-333 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Bollmann, Johann, Engert, Florian, Orger, Mike, Severi, Kristen
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Action Potentials/physiology
  • Animals
  • Axons/physiology
  • Axons/ultrastructure
  • Brain Stem/anatomy & histology
  • Brain Stem/physiology*
  • Calcium/chemistry
  • Denervation
  • Efferent Pathways/anatomy & histology
  • Efferent Pathways/physiology
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Functional Laterality/physiology
  • Indicators and Reagents
  • Locomotion/physiology
  • Models, Animal
  • Nerve Net/cytology
  • Nerve Net/physiology
  • Neurons/cytology
  • Neurons/physiology*
  • Orientation/physiology
  • Psychomotor Performance/physiology*
  • Reticular Formation/anatomy & histology
  • Reticular Formation/physiology*
  • Spinal Cord/anatomy & histology
  • Spinal Cord/physiology*
  • Staining and Labeling
  • Swimming/physiology
  • Visual Pathways/physiology
  • Zebrafish/anatomy & histology
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
PubMed
18264094 Full text @ Nat. Neurosci.
Abstract
A basic question in the field of motor control is how different actions are represented by activity in spinal projection neurons. We used a new behavioral assay to identify visual stimuli that specifically drive basic motor patterns in zebrafish. These stimuli evoked consistent patterns of neural activity in the neurons projecting to the spinal cord, which we could map throughout the entire population using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. We found that stimuli that drive distinct behaviors activated distinct subsets of projection neurons, consisting, in some cases, of just a few cells. This stands in contrast to the distributed activation seen for more complex behaviors. Furthermore, targeted cell by cell ablations of the neurons associated with evoked turns abolished the corresponding behavioral response. This description of the functional organization of the zebrafish motor system provides a framework for identifying the complete circuit underlying a vertebrate behavior.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping