Recovery of locomotion after injury inDrosophiladepends on proprioception
Abstract
Locomotion is necessary for survival in most animal species. However, injuries to the appendages mediating locomotion are common. We assess the recovery of walking in Drosophila melanogaster following leg amputation. Whereas flies pre-amputation explore open arenas in a symmetric fashion, foreleg amputation induces a strong turning bias away from the side of the amputation. However, we find that unbiased walking behavior returns over time in wild type flies, while recovery is significantly impaired in proprioceptive mutants. To identify the biomechanical basis of this locomotor impairment and recovery, we then examine individual leg motion (gait) at a fine scale. A minimal mathematical model that links neurodynamics to body mechanics during walking shows that redistributing leg forces between the right and left side enables the observed recovery. Altogether, our study suggests that proprioceptive input from the intact limbs plays a critical role in the behavioral plasticity associated with locomotor recovery after injury.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1242/jeb.133652
Entities
People
- Akshitha Ramachandran
- Alexander Isakov
- Benjamin L. de Bivort
- Brian Sullivan
- Edward S. Lu
- Joshua K. S. Chapman
- Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan
- Sean M. Buchanan
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Harvard University