Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour
For many species, hunting is an innate behaviour that is crucial for survival, yet the circuits that control predatory action sequences are poorly understood. We used larval zebrafish to identify a population of pretectal neurons that control hunting. By combining calcium imaging with a virtual hunt...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2019-10-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/48114 |
| _version_ | 1818026859071275008 |
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| author | Paride Antinucci Mónica Folgueira Isaac H Bianco |
| author_facet | Paride Antinucci Mónica Folgueira Isaac H Bianco |
| author_sort | Paride Antinucci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For many species, hunting is an innate behaviour that is crucial for survival, yet the circuits that control predatory action sequences are poorly understood. We used larval zebrafish to identify a population of pretectal neurons that control hunting. By combining calcium imaging with a virtual hunting assay, we identified a discrete pretectal region that is selectively active when animals initiate hunting. Targeted genetic labelling allowed us to examine the function and morphology of individual cells and identify two classes of pretectal neuron that project to ipsilateral optic tectum or the contralateral tegmentum. Optogenetic stimulation of single neurons of either class was able to induce sustained hunting sequences, in the absence of prey. Furthermore, laser ablation of these neurons impaired prey-catching and prevented induction of hunting by optogenetic stimulation of the anterior-ventral tectum. We propose that this specific population of pretectal neurons functions as a command system to induce predatory behaviour. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:38:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-76e8f852c1fb45fd92a09d15813e1009 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:38:42Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-76e8f852c1fb45fd92a09d15813e10092022-12-22T02:01:57ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-10-01810.7554/eLife.48114Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviourParide Antinucci0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0573-5383Mónica Folgueira1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2927-7516Isaac H Bianco2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-4862Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, UCL, London, United KingdomDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), University of A Coruña, A Coruña, SpainDepartment of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology, UCL, London, United KingdomFor many species, hunting is an innate behaviour that is crucial for survival, yet the circuits that control predatory action sequences are poorly understood. We used larval zebrafish to identify a population of pretectal neurons that control hunting. By combining calcium imaging with a virtual hunting assay, we identified a discrete pretectal region that is selectively active when animals initiate hunting. Targeted genetic labelling allowed us to examine the function and morphology of individual cells and identify two classes of pretectal neuron that project to ipsilateral optic tectum or the contralateral tegmentum. Optogenetic stimulation of single neurons of either class was able to induce sustained hunting sequences, in the absence of prey. Furthermore, laser ablation of these neurons impaired prey-catching and prevented induction of hunting by optogenetic stimulation of the anterior-ventral tectum. We propose that this specific population of pretectal neurons functions as a command system to induce predatory behaviour.https://elifesciences.org/articles/48114predationcommand systempretectumoptic tectumsensorimotor processingoptogenetics |
| spellingShingle | Paride Antinucci Mónica Folgueira Isaac H Bianco Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour eLife predation command system pretectum optic tectum sensorimotor processing optogenetics |
| title | Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| title_full | Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| title_fullStr | Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| title_short | Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| title_sort | pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour |
| topic | predation command system pretectum optic tectum sensorimotor processing optogenetics |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/48114 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT parideantinucci pretectalneuronscontrolhuntingbehaviour AT monicafolgueira pretectalneuronscontrolhuntingbehaviour AT isaachbianco pretectalneuronscontrolhuntingbehaviour |