Sexual dimorphism in the hoverfly motion vision pathway
Date
2008
Authors
Nordstrom, K.
Barnett, P.
Moyer, I.
Brinkworth, R.
O'Carroll, D.
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Journal article
Citation
Current Biology, 2008; 18(9):661-667
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Karin Nordström, Paul D. Barnett, Irene M. Moyer de Miguel, Russell S.A. Brinkworth, and David C. O'Carroll
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Abstract
Many insects perform high-speed aerial maneuvers in which they navigate through visually complex surrounds. Among insects, hoverflies stand out, with males switching from stationary hovering to high-speed pursuit at extreme angular velocities [1]. In dipterans, 50-60 large interneurons-the lobula-plate tangential cells (LPTCs)-detect changes in optic flow experienced during flight [2-5]. It has been predicted that large LPTC receptive fields are a requirement of accurate ''matched filters'' of optic flow [6]. Whereas many fly taxa have three horizontal system (HS) LPTC neurons in each hemisphere, hoverflies have four [7], possibly reflecting the more sophisticated flight behavior. We here show that the most dorsal hoverfly neuron (HS north [HSN]) is sexually dimorphic, with the male receptive field substantially smaller than infemales or in either sex of blowflies. The(hoverfly-specific) HSN equatorial (HSNE) is, however, sexually isomorphic. Using complex optic flow, we show that HSN, despite its smaller receptive field, codes yaw velocity as well as HSNE. Responses to a target moving against a plain or textured background suggest that the male HSN could potentially play a role in target pursuit under some conditions.
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Copyright © 2008 Cell Press
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Copyright 2008 Elsevier