PUBLICATION
Precise visuomotor transformations underlying collective behavior in larval zebrafish
- Authors
- Harpaz, R., Nguyen, M.N., Bahl, A., Engert, F.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-211116-20
- Date
- 2021
- Source
- Nature communications 12: 6578 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Engert, Florian
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal/physiology
- Decision Making/physiology
- Larva/physiology*
- Mass Gatherings*
- Movement
- Neural Networks, Computer
- Neurons/physiology
- Social Behavior
- Swimming
- Virtual Reality
- Visual Perception/physiology
- Zebrafish/physiology*
- PubMed
- 34772934 Full text @ Nat. Commun.
Citation
Harpaz, R., Nguyen, M.N., Bahl, A., Engert, F. (2021) Precise visuomotor transformations underlying collective behavior in larval zebrafish. Nature communications. 12:6578.
Abstract
Complex schooling behaviors result from local interactions among individuals. Yet, how sensory signals from neighbors are analyzed in the visuomotor stream of animals is poorly understood. Here, we studied aggregation behavior in larval zebrafish and found that over development larvae transition from overdispersed groups to tight shoals. Using a virtual reality assay, we characterized the algorithms fish use to transform visual inputs from neighbors into movement decisions. We found that young larvae turn away from virtual neighbors by integrating and averaging retina-wide visual occupancy within each eye, and by using a winner-take-all strategy for binocular integration. As fish mature, their responses expand to include attraction to virtual neighbors, which is based on similar algorithms of visual integration. Using model simulations, we show that the observed algorithms accurately predict group structure over development. These findings allow us to make testable predictions regarding the neuronal circuits underlying collective behavior in zebrafish.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping