PUBLICATION

A Convergent and Essential Interneuron Pathway for Mauthner-Cell-Mediated Escapes

Authors
Lacoste, A.M., Schoppik, D., Robson, D.N., Haesemeyer, M., Portugues, R., Li, J.M., Randlett, O., Wee, C.L., Engert, F., Schier, A.F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150512-4
Date
2015
Source
Current biology : CB   25(11): 1526-34 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Engert, Florian, Randlett, Owen, Robson, Drew, Schier, Alexander, Schoppik, David
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Escape Reaction/physiology*
  • Animals
  • Interneurons/physiology*
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
PubMed
25959971 Full text @ Curr. Biol.
Abstract
The Mauthner cell (M-cell) is a command-like neuron in teleost fish whose firing in response to aversive stimuli is correlated with short-latency escapes [1-3]. M-cells have been proposed as evolutionary ancestors of startle response neurons of the mammalian reticular formation [4], and studies of this circuit have uncovered important principles in neurobiology that generalize to more complex vertebrate models [3]. The main excitatory input was thought to originate from multisensory afferents synapsing directly onto the M-cell dendrites [3]. Here, we describe an additional, convergent pathway that is essential for the M-cell-mediated startle behavior in larval zebrafish. It is composed of excitatory interneurons called spiral fiber neurons, which project to the M-cell axon hillock. By in vivo calcium imaging, we found that spiral fiber neurons are active in response to aversive stimuli capable of eliciting escapes. Like M-cell ablations, bilateral ablations of spiral fiber neurons largely eliminate short-latency escapes. Unilateral spiral fiber neuron ablations shift the directionality of escapes and indicate that spiral fiber neurons excite the M-cell in a lateralized manner. Their optogenetic activation increases the probability of short-latency escapes, supporting the notion that spiral fiber neurons help activate M-cell-mediated startle behavior. These results reveal that spiral fiber neurons are essential for the function of the M-cell in response to sensory cues and suggest that convergent excitatory inputs that differ in their input location and timing ensure reliable activation of the M-cell, a feedforward excitatory motif that may extend to other neural circuits.
Genes / Markers
Marker Marker Type Name
mitfaGENEmelanocyte inducing transcription factor a
1 - 1 of 1
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Figures
Figure Gallery (4 images)
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Expression
No data available
Phenotype
No data available
Mutations / Transgenics
Allele Construct Type Affected Genomic Region
a128TgTransgenic Insertion
    a150TgTransgenic Insertion
      a151TgTransgenic Insertion
        a152TgTransgenic Insertion
          b692
            		Point Mutation
            nkGCaMPHS4aTgTransgenic Insertion
              s1181tEtTransgenic Insertion
                s1999tTgTransgenic Insertion
                  1 - 8 of 8
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                  Human Disease / Model
                  No data available
                  Sequence Targeting Reagents
                  No data available
                  Fish
                  No data available
                  Antibodies
                  Name Type Antigen Genes Isotypes Host Organism
                  Ab12-mapkmonoclonal
                    		IgG1Mouse
                    1 - 1 of 1
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                    Orthology
                    No data available
                    Engineered Foreign Genes
                    Marker Marker Type Name
                    EYFPEFGEYFP
                    GAL4EFGGAL4
                    GCaMPEFGGCaMP
                    KaedeEFGKaede
                    1 - 4 of 4
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                    Mapping
                    No data available
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                    Citation
                    Lacoste, A.M., Schoppik, D., Robson, D.N., Haesemeyer, M., Portugues, R., Li, J.M., Randlett, O., Wee, C.L., Engert, F., Schier, A.F. (2015) A Convergent and Essential Interneuron Pathway for Mauthner-Cell-Mediated Escapes. Current biology : CB. 25(11):1526-34.