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Sexual dimorphism in the hoverfly motion vision pathway.

Karin Nordström¹, Paul D Barnett, Irene M Moyer de Miguel

¹Discipline of Physiology, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, SA, Australia. karin.nordstrom@adelaide.edu.au

Current Biology : CB

|May 3, 2008

Summary

Hoverflies exhibit sexual dimorphism in their visual system. Males have smaller receptive fields in the dorsal neuron (HSN), yet still effectively code yaw velocity, potentially aiding in target pursuit.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Insect behavior
Sensory processing

Background:

Insects navigate complex environments using high-speed aerial maneuvers.
Dipterans rely on lobula-plate tangential cells (LPTCs) for optic flow detection during flight.
Hoverflies possess a unique fourth horizontal system (HS) neuron, potentially linked to advanced flight capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the visual processing capabilities of hoverflies, particularly the sexually dimorphic dorsal neuron (HSN).
Determine if the smaller receptive field in male HSN impacts yaw velocity coding.
Explore the potential role of HSN in target pursuit behaviors.

Main Methods:

Electrophysiological recordings from HSN and HSNE in hoverflies and blowflies.
Presentation of complex optic flow stimuli to assess neuronal responses.
Analysis of neuronal responses to moving targets against varied backgrounds.

Main Results:

The dorsal hoverfly neuron (HSN) exhibits sexual dimorphism, with males having significantly smaller receptive fields than females.
Despite its smaller receptive field, male HSN effectively codes yaw velocity, comparable to the sexually isomorphic HSNE.
Male HSN responses suggest a potential role in tracking targets under specific visual conditions.

Conclusions:

Hoverfly HSN is sexually dimorphic, challenging the notion that large receptive fields are universally required for optic flow matched filters.
The functional coding of yaw velocity by the smaller male HSN indicates specialized visual processing.
Male HSN may contribute to visually guided behaviors like target pursuit in hoverflies.