Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
Photoreceptors and neural circuitry underlying phototaxis in insects
Satoko Yamaguchi1, Martin Heisenberg
1Department of Genetics and Neurobiology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany. satoko.yamaguchi@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
Visual behavior of insects has long been studied, but it is only recently that a wide variety of genetic tools has become available for its analysis. Perhaps the most basic visual behaviour is phototaxis, locomotion towards a source of light. It is known in many insects and has been studied for over a century but the neural network underlying it is little understood. We recently described in the fruit fly Drosophila how different photoreceptor types contribute to phototaxis. By blocking subsets of them we showed that at least four of the five types are involved. In this short review, we compare phototactic behaviour in fruit flies and other insects (especially honeybees), and discuss what is known about the underlying neural circuitry. :
Related Concept Videos
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
The Retina
Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
Anatomy of the Eyeball
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory organs,...

