The visuomotor transformations underlying target-directed behavior

The visual system can process diverse stimuli and make the decision to execute appropriate behaviors, but it remains unclear where and how this transformation takes place. We imaged the zebrafish visual system while larvae responded with hunting, freezing, and escape behaviors, and systematically identified visually driven neurons and behaviorally correlated sensorimotor neurons. We found that broadly tuned sensory neurons are functionally connected to sensorimotor neurons that respond specifically during one behavior, and this transformation occurs in the optic tectum. We also identified sensorimotor neurons in four other areas downstream of the tectum, and these neurons are also specific for one behavior, indicating that once the decision to behave has been made in the tectum, the segregation of the pathways continues in later areas. Our findings suggest that the tectum receives visual sensory information and is responsible for selecting a single behavioral outcome, which is then relayed to downstream areas.