Meeting Abstract
Visual perception of object motion is critical to countless animal behaviors. Flies exhibit a rich repertoire of visually mediated behaviors and have emerged as a powerful model system for examining the neural computations underlying motion vision. Using genetically-encoded fluorescent calcium indicators and two-photon microscopy, we recorded the population-level activity of neurons in the neuropil responsible for motion vision, the medulla, in Drosophila melanogaster. We found that the individual layers of the medulla respond selectively and characteristically to either light increments or decrements across a wide range of visual stimuli. In order to identify the origin and scope of this selectivity, we then recorded the activity of specific upstream and downstream neurons in response to the same stimuli. Our results provide direct evidence that motion vision in flies is computed in two parallel and largely independent pathways, one that is selective for light increments and one that is selective for light decrements.
