RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Recurrent Network Interactions Underlying Flow-Field Selectivity of Visual Interneurons
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 5685
OP 5692
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-15-05685.2001
VO 21
IS 15
A1 Juergen Haag
A1 Alexander Borst
YR 2001
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/21/15/5685.abstract
AB Motion-sensitive large-field neurons found at higher processing stages in many species often exhibit a remarkable selectivity for particular flow fields. However, the underlying neural mechanisms are not yet understood. We studied this problem in the so-called lobula plate tangential cells (LPTCs) of the fly. Investigating the connectivity between LPTCs by means of dual recordings, we find two types of connections: (1) heterolateral connections between LPTCs of both hemispheres and (2) ipsilateral connections between LPTCs within one lobula plate. The circuit is suitable to amplify incoming, dendritic signals in the case of rotatory flow fields and to reduce them in the case of other flow-field structures. In addition to feedforward connectivity, thus, the flow-field selectivity of LPTCs may be significantly attributable to recurrent excitation involving the network of large-field neurons in both brain hemispheres.