An intrinsic oscillator underlies visual navigation in ants.
Curr Biol
; 33(3): 411-422.e5, 2023 02 06.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36538930
ABSTRACT
Many insects display lateral oscillations while moving, but how these oscillations are produced and participate in visual navigation remains unclear. Here, we show that visually navigating ants continuously display regular lateral oscillations coupled with variations of forward speed that strongly optimize the distance covered while simultaneously enabling them to scan left and right directions. This pattern of movement is produced endogenously and conserved across navigational contexts in two phylogenetically distant ant species. Moreover, the oscillations' amplitude can be modulated by both innate or learnt visual cues to adjust the exploration/exploitation balance to the current need. This lower-level motor pattern thus drastically reduces the degree of freedom needed for higher-level strategies to control behavior. The observed dynamical signature readily emerges from a simple neural circuit model of the insect's conserved pre-motor area known as the lateral accessory lobe, offering a surprisingly simple but effective neural control and endorsing oscillation as a core, ancestral way of moving in insects.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Hormigas
/
Navegación Espacial
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Biol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article