ePoster

Sensory somatotopy of flow stimuli in a sensory integration center in the zebrafish hindbrain

Elias Lunsfordand 1 co-author

Presenting Author

Conference
FENS Forum 2024 (2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Elias Lunsford, Claire Wyart

Abstract

Sensory systems relay vital information about changes in the environment to motor command circuits in the brainstem that then select optimal motor actions during navigation. The organization of different sensory inputs and the destination of the integrated output is essential to our understanding of action selection processes. The mechanoreceptive lateral line (LL) system of larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) mediates navigation by detecting flow relative to the body. The LL is innervated by peripheral afferent neurons that project to medial octavolateralis nuclei (MON) in the brainstem. Current methods have yet to discern recruitment of MON neurons as a function of different stimulus parameters such as flow direction, intensity, and symmetry. We combine microfluidics, functional calcium imaging, and targeted photoactivation to dissect where integration of different flow stimuli occurs within the MON and how this topography informs motor circuits. We find neurons in the anterior MON reliably respond to anterior LL stimulation and anterior-to-posterior directional flow whereas stimulation within posterior LL and posterior-to-anterior flow lead to activation in the posterior MON. We also observe somatotopy ipsilateral to the stimulated sensor with evidence of some contralateral activity. Input-output connectivity of the MON is key to solve how hindbrain neurons compute flow along the body axis and select motor actions. Our findings suggest an organization of the sensorimotor network that recruits subsets of MON neurons contingent on different stimulus parameters, which integrates this sensory information and likely projects ventrally to motor circuits responsible for locomotion.

Unique ID: fens-24/sensory-somatotopy-flow-stimuli-sensory-e318b603