Neural arithmetic of motion vision

Informazioni relative al progetto

MOVIS

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 896143

DOI

10.3030/896143

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 23 Marzo 2020

Data di avvio 1 Luglio 2021

Data di completamento 30 Giugno 2023

Finanziato da

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Costo totale

€ 174 806,40

Contributo UE

€ 174 806,40

Coordinato da

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MOVIS (Neural arithmetic of motion vision)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-07-01 al 2023-06-30

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

The brain is thought to derive much of its computational power from arithmetic operations carried out by individual nerve cells. The aim of the project ‘Neural arithmetic of motion vision’ — MOVIS is to understand how these arithmetic operations are implemented at the cellular and molecular level.
The visual system in the brain of the fruit fly houses nerve cells with remarkable abilities: These neurons compute the direction of visual motion based on information from adjacent light-sensitive cells of the eye. A formal model postulates that this would require the multiplication of two signals, but how a single nerve cell can perform a multiplication has been a puzzle for decades.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

Work performed over the course of the project describes how direction-selective neurons implement such a multiplicative mathematical operation. Experiments measuring the voltages across the surfaces of nerve cells in live flies revealed that the electrical activities of these cells are subject to constant inhibition. A brief release from this inhibitory signal, occurring only when visual stimuli move along one specific direction, amplifies the coincident excitatory signal from a neighbouring location. This amplification is formally equivalent to a multiplication. The nerve cell’s ability to multiply was linked to a receptor molecule on its surface. Animals lacking this receptor on direction-selective neurons failed to stay on course in a virtual reality. This illustrates the behavioural relevance of a specific computation in a clearly defined type of neuron.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

Similar neural computations are thought to underly our abilities to localize sounds, to navigate, or to focus our attention. The comparatively simple brain of the fruit fly offers an unparalleled opportunity to draw back the curtain on some of these seemingly intractable neuroscientific problems.

Orderly array of neurons in the visual system of the fruit fly.