# Sensorimotor Transformations for Controlling Heading Direction in the Insect Central Complex

> **NIH NIH R01** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $418,500

## Abstract

Survival of an organism relies on its ability to navigate through a complex environment. During navigation, the
nervous system integrates spatial information from a wide variety of sensory modalities into a stable heading
direction. In insects, such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, this process takes place in the central
complex, a series of neuropil structures in the brain. A hallmark of the central complex is its columnar
organization, in which neuronal activity appears as stable bumps that correlate with changes in the organism’s
heading direction. The Drosophila central complex has been the subject of extensive anatomical and functional
characterization, which has revealed how sensory percepts are transformed through its various compartments.
However, the understanding of how neuronal activity in the central complex is translated into behavior is strictly
correlational. To establish a causal relationship between central complex activity and heading direction, a
thorough behavioral dissection is required. Further, the circuits that relay central complex activity to motor
command centers are still poorly understood. Our proposal details a comprehensive research plan to
optogenetically manipulate the inputs and outputs of the Drosophila fan-shaped body (FB), a key structure in the
central complex. These manipulations will reveal the contributions of the FB input and output neurons to
generating a heading direction. To achieve this, we developed a behavior chamber for tracking locomotion of
walking flies during optogenetic manipulations. We use this chamber to activate FB neurons in different sensory
contexts. Additionally, we will map how outputs from the central complex are routed to command centers in the
brain. To this end, we will employ various new configurations of trans-Tango, the transsynaptic circuit mapping
and manipulation technique developed by our laboratory. The first of these is trans-Tango(behavior), which
allows selective optogenetic manipulation of the postsynaptic partners of a chosen starting population. The
second is ds-Tango, a method for mapping neurons mono- and di-synaptic to a chosen starter population. The
final is retro-Tango, a transsynaptic mapping tool that works in the retrograde direction. Our studies will reveal
how spatial information of sensory cues is translated through multiple layers of circuitry to elicit the navigational
drive. Our results will, therefore, represent a key step forward in the knowledge of how the nervous system
transforms sensory information into behavior. Finally, our studies will reveal circuit motifs in insects that may be
conserved in mammals to perform analogous functions. Therefore, the circuits we describe in insects may
contribute to the understanding of spatial perception in humans, one of the first cognitive faculties impacted in
Alzheimer's disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10852946
- **Project number:** 5R01NS133238-02
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gilad Barnea
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $418,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10852946

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10852946, Sensorimotor Transformations for Controlling Heading Direction in the Insect Central Complex (5R01NS133238-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10852946. Licensed CC0.

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