Integration of optic flow into the sky compass network in the brain of the desert locust

Abstract

Flexible orientation through any environment requires a sense of current relative heading that is updated based on self-motion. Global external cues originating from the sky or the earths magnetic field and local cues provide a reference frame for the sense of direction. Locally, optic flow may inform about turning maneuvers, travel speed and covered distance. The central complex in the insect brain is associated with orientation behavior and largely acts as a navigation center. Visual information from global celestial cues and local landmarks are integrated in the central complex to form an internal representation of current heading. However, it is largely unclear which neurons integrate optic flow in the central-complex network. We recorded intracellularly from neurons in the locust central complex while presenting lateral grating patterns that simulated translational and rotational motion to identify these sites of integration. Certain types of central-complex neurons were sensitive to visual self-motion independent of the type and direction of simulated motion. Columnar neurons innervating the noduli, paired central-complex substructures, were tuned to the direction of simulated horizontal turns. Modelling the connectivity of these neurons with a system of proposed compass neurons can account for rotation-direction specific shifts in the activity profile in the central complex corresponding to turn direction. Our model is similar but not identical to the mechanisms proposed for angular velocity integration in the navigation compass of the fly Drosophila.