NEURO-BEHAVIOURAL MECHANISMS OF AIRFLOW-GUIDED NAVIGATION IN MICE

In nature, air currents carry various chemosensory cues in the form of odor plumes. Rodents show anemotaxis behavior by detecting and tracking airstreams to navigate through their sensory space. Very few studies have shown the involvement of whiskers in anemotaxis. Consequently, the detailed neural mechanisms underlying this behaviour remain largely unexplored.
Therefore, to elucidate neuro-behaviour correlates of anemotaxis, we devised an automated, closed-loop hexagonal setup capable of delivering precisely regulated airflows randomly from one of six directions. A bonsai-controlled overhead camera recorded animal’s movement as they learned to navigate in the direction of air current with good accuracy and rewarding successful navigation along the airflow route. DeepLabCut kinematic analysis revealed that a quick snout alignment towards the air flow source and minimum snout deviation with respect to airflow path are strong predictors of a successful navigation. Further, anemotaxis requires multimodal inputs, as evidenced by the behavioral deficits and a corresponding decrease in c-fos expressing cells in the somatosensory cortex and olfactory bulb, caused by whisker trimming and olfactory epithelium ablation, respectively. Research demonstrating the ability of rodent olfactory system to detect and differentiate ethologically relevant mechanosensory stimuli suggests a potential role for the olfactory system in driving anemotaxis behaviour (1). A bidirectional optogenetic modulation of the OB inhibitory network showed corresponding shift in task performance further consolidating the role of OB circuits in anemotaxis behaviour. Together, our results demonstrate that anemotaxis behaviour is multimodal with a critical contribution from the olfactory system.
1. Mahajan et al., Science Advances 202