Multisensory Mechanisms of Gaze Stabilization and Flight Control
Abstract
This report results from a contract tasking Imperial College London as follows: The grantee will investigate the sensory mechanisms of gaze stabilization and flight control on insects (flies and locusts). The study aims at understanding the underlying biological design principles. The research includes techniques ranging from neurophysiology and neuroanatomy to quantitative behavioral observations complemented by analytical and numerical modeling. Focus is on multi-sensory integration (visual and mechanosensory information), biophysical mechanisms of looming detection (visual information), and the use of efference copy for sensory information processing as well as inner and outer loop control. In summary, we find that the rotations associated with the lateral modes of motion we have identified in Calliphora are orthogonal to the axes of maximal sensitivity of the VS interneuons, but approximately coincide with the axes of maximal sensitivity of the HS interneurons. None of the identified LPTCs in flies appear to be tuned to sense forward translation, but we have found that locusts do monitor several axes of translation including straight flight, which is the primary flight mode of this species (c.f. flies). These results are consistent with the original hypothesis which we set out to test: that visual interneurons processing self-motion information are tuned to the preferred modes of flight behaviour of the insect in question.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 17, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA492939
Entities
People
- Holger G. Krapp
Organizations
- Imperial College London