动物行为 z-bo 2020-11-10 400

　　Du Jiulin's research group from the Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Academy of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences found that hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons and hindbrain glycinergic inhibitory neurons form functional modules that control the conversion of visual-motor information to achieve specific behavioral choices for visual stimuli. This is the first time that the occurrence and control mechanisms of sensory-motor information conversion and behavioral selection have been analyzed at the cellular level, circuit level, and behavior level in vertebrates. The relevant results were published online in the journal Neuron in the form of bright papers.

　　Researchers used zebrafish’s escape loop as a model to study the neural mechanisms of different behaviors caused by visual stimuli with different behavioral meanings. They found that zebrafish only produced flight behavior for dangerous—not non-dangerous—visual stimuli, and this behavioral control occurred at the stage when visual information was transmitted from the visual center to the flight command neurons; while the hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons and Glycine inhibitory neurons in the hindbrain constitute functional modules that control this behavioral choice.

　　The control of dangerous and non-dangerous visual stimuli by this functional module is realized by the visual response characteristics of dopaminergic neurons and glycinergic inhibitory neurons: for non-dangerous visual stimuli, dopaminergic neurons and their positive regulation The electrical activity of inhibitory neurons increases, blocking the transmission of visual information from the visual center to the escape motor command neuron; for dangerous visual stimuli, the activities of these two neurons are inhibited, and the visual information is released from the visual center to the escape motion Command neurons to inhibit the transmission process, thereby inducing escape behavior.

　　Related experts believe that this achievement increases the understanding of sensory-motor information conversion and control, and further enhances the understanding of the role of neuromodulatory system in behavior selection.