Spike timing changes between power muscles in pitch and roll turns of a hawk moth, M sexta


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


82-8  Sat Jan 2  Spike timing changes between power muscles in pitch and roll turns of a hawk moth, M. sexta Putney, J*; Sponberg, S; Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA jputney3@gatech.edu

In the Lepidopteran flight system, two muscle pairs – the dorsolongitudinal (DLM) and dorsoventral (DVM) muscles – power the downstroke and upstroke of the wing, respectively. They are activated synchronously by neural spikes unlike in Drosophila, where high wing beat frequencies demand asynchronous stretch activation. Neural control of turns may differ in synchronous fliers since precise timing control of power muscles is possible. In the hawk moth, the bilateral timing between left and right DLMs and DVMs are correlated with yaw turns, and DLM timing differences causally control power output during yaw turns, likely by inducing side asymmetries. However, few experiments have investigated how the timing of power muscles change in pitch and roll turning in synchronous flight, or if timing between DVM and DLM activations is important for facilitating these turns. We drove hard turns around the flight axes – pitch, roll, and yaw – during tethered flight in hawk moths (M. sexta) while simultaneously recording the DLM and DVM activations and turning torques produced. We found differences in motor output between pitch, roll, and yaw turns. We show that in roll turns, the ipsilateral DLM leads the contralateral DLM timing, potentially introducing wing stroke asymmetries. We also demonstrate an increased length of time between DVM and DLM activation when a moth is pitching up, suggesting a change in the downstroke duty factor and a potential shift in mean flapping angle. Timing differences in power muscles may contribute to an alternate control strategy for pitching and turning compared to Drosophila, where steering muscles like the first basalar protract the wing and adjust wingstroke amplitude. These patterns give insight into how synchronous flight power muscles control turning with precise timing coordination.

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