Neuronal Control of Drosophila Walking Direction

Most land animals normally walk forward but switch to backward walking upon sensing an obstacle or danger in the path ahead. A change in walking direction is likely to be triggered by descending "command" neurons from the brain that act upon local motor circuits to alter the timing of leg...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2014-04, Vol.344 (6179), p.97-101
Main Authors: Bidaye, Salil S., Machacek, Christian, Wu, Yang, Dickson, Barry J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brain - cytology
Drosophila - physiology
Extremities - physiology
Female
Gait
Ganglia, Invertebrate - cytology
Insects
Male
Motor ability
Neurology
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Walking
Walking - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Most land animals normally walk forward but switch to backward walking upon sensing an obstacle or danger in the path ahead. A change in walking direction is likely to be triggered by descending "command" neurons from the brain that act upon local motor circuits to alter the timing of leg muscle activation. Here we identify descending neurons for backward walking in Drosophila—the MDN neurons. MDN activity is required for flies to walk backward when they encounter an impassable barrier and is sufficient to trigger backward walking under conditions in which flies would otherwise walk forward. We also identify ascending neurons, MAN, that promote persistent backward walking, possibly by inhibiting forward walking. These findings provide an initial glimpse into the circuits and logic that control walking direction in Drosophila.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1249964