A neural command circuit for grooming movement control
- PMID: 26344548
- PMCID: PMC4599031
- DOI: 10.7554/eLife.08758
A neural command circuit for grooming movement control
Abstract
Animals perform many stereotyped movements, but how nervous systems are organized for controlling specific movements remains unclear. Here we use anatomical, optogenetic, behavioral, and physiological techniques to identify a circuit in Drosophila melanogaster that can elicit stereotyped leg movements that groom the antennae. Mechanosensory chordotonal neurons detect displacements of the antennae and excite three different classes of functionally connected interneurons, which include two classes of brain interneurons and different parallel descending neurons. This multilayered circuit is organized such that neurons within each layer are sufficient to specifically elicit antennal grooming. However, we find differences in the durations of antennal grooming elicited by neurons in the different layers, suggesting that the circuit is organized to both command antennal grooming and control its duration. As similar features underlie stimulus-induced movements in other animals, we infer the possibility of a common circuit organization for movement control that can be dissected in Drosophila.
Keywords: D. melanogaster; Johnston's Organ; command neurons; descending neuron; grooming movement; neural circuit; neuroscience; scratch reflex.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Figures






















Similar articles
-
Distinct subpopulations of mechanosensory chordotonal organ neurons elicit grooming of the fruit fly antennae.Elife. 2020 Oct 26;9:e59976. doi: 10.7554/eLife.59976. Elife. 2020. PMID: 33103999 Free PMC article.
-
GABAergic Local Interneurons Shape Female Fruit Fly Response to Mating Songs.J Neurosci. 2018 May 2;38(18):4329-4347. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3644-17.2018. Epub 2018 Apr 24. J Neurosci. 2018. PMID: 29691331 Free PMC article.
-
Antennal mechanosensory neurons mediate wing motor reflexes in flying Drosophila.J Neurosci. 2015 May 20;35(20):7977-91. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0034-15.2015. J Neurosci. 2015. PMID: 25995481 Free PMC article.
-
The Drosophila auditory system.Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2014 Mar-Apr;3(2):179-91. doi: 10.1002/wdev.128. Epub 2013 Oct 16. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2014. PMID: 24719289 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Morphological and physiological bases of crayfish local circuit neurones.Histol Histopathol. 1994 Oct;9(4):791-805. Histol Histopathol. 1994. PMID: 7894151 Review.
Cited by
-
Command or Obey? Homologous Neurons Differ in Hierarchical Position for the Generation of Homologous Behaviors.J Neurosci. 2019 Aug 14;39(33):6460-6471. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3229-18.2019. Epub 2019 Jun 17. J Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31209170 Free PMC article.
-
Quantification of Drosophila Grooming Behavior.J Vis Exp. 2017 Jul 19;(125):55231. doi: 10.3791/55231. J Vis Exp. 2017. PMID: 28745619 Free PMC article.
-
Nutritional state-dependent modulation of insulin-producing cells in Drosophila.Elife. 2025 Jan 29;13:RP98514. doi: 10.7554/eLife.98514. Elife. 2025. PMID: 39878318 Free PMC article.
-
Mechanosensory and command contributions to the Drosophila grooming sequence.Curr Biol. 2024 May 20;34(10):2066-2076.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.003. Epub 2024 Apr 23. Curr Biol. 2024. PMID: 38657610 Free PMC article.
-
What genetic model organisms offer the study of behavior and neural circuits.J Neurogenet. 2016 Jun;30(2):54-61. doi: 10.1080/01677063.2016.1177049. J Neurogenet. 2016. PMID: 27328841 Free PMC article. Review.
References
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Molecular Biology Databases
Research Materials