Understanding the mechanism of facilitation in hoverfly TSDNs

Many animals use visual motion cues to track and pursue small, fast-moving targets, for instance, prey or conspecifics. In target-pursuing insects, including dragonflies and hoverflies, Small Target Motion Detector (STMD) neurons are found in the optic lobes and are believed to be presynaptic to Target Selective Descending Neurons (TSDNs) that project to motor command centres. While STMDs respond robustly to target motion – even when displayed against moving backgrounds – TSDN target responses are modulated by background motion. Depending on whether the background motion is syn- or contra-directional to the target motion, the response of the TSDNs is either suppressed or facilitated (amplified). This suggests additional input from neurons tuned to background motion. However, the neural mechanism is not clearly understood. To explore the underlying circuitry, we developed three candidate models of the TSDN circuit – which combine input from STMDs and optic flow-sensitive Lobula Plate Tangential Cells (LPTCs) in different ways – and fitted them to published electrophysiology data from hoverfly TSDNs. We then tested the best-fitting models against new electrophysiological data using different background patterns. We found that the overall best model suggests simple inhibition from LPTCs with the same preferred direction as the STMDs feeding into the TSDN. This parsimonious mechanism can explain the facilitation and suppression of TSDN responses to small targets and may inform similar studies in other animals and open new avenues for bio-inspired robotics.