ArticleNature communications2023
Neural representation of goal direction in the monarch butterfly brain.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
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- Neural dynamics for working memory and evidence integration during olfactory navigation in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Updating an allocentric goal from lateralised egocentric visual memories.Nature communications · 2026Article
- From skylight cues to magnetic fields: the toolkit of insect long-distance navigation.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- Neuroethology on the move with butterflies and moths.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Article
- Emerging tools to advance neuroethology in butterflies and moths.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- The evolution of lepidopteran brain morphology.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Article
- The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies - neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Neural dynamics for working memory and evidence integration during olfactory navigation inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Disinhibition of a recurrent attractor gates a persistent goal signal for navigation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Building egocentric models of local space from retinal input.Current biology : CB · 2024Review
- A computational model for angular velocity integration in a locust heading circuit.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Neuroarchitecture of the Central Complex in the Madeira Cockroach Rhyparobia maderae: Tangential Neurons.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2024Article
- Neural circuits for goal-directed navigation across species.Trends in neurosciences · 2024Review
- Drosophila require both green and UV wavelengths for sun orientation but lack a time-compensated sun compass.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Evolution of neural circuitry and cognition.Biology letters · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neural processing of a desired moving direction requires the continuous comparison between the current heading and the goal direction. While the neural basis underlying the current heading is well-studied, the coding of the goal direction remains unclear in insects. Here, we used tetrode recordings in tethered flying monarch butterflies to unravel how a goal direction is represented in the insect brain. While recording, the butterflies maintained robust goal directions relative to a virtual sun. By resetting their goal directions, we found neurons whose spatial tuning was tightly linked to the goal directions. Importantly, their tuning was unaffected when the butterflies changed their heading after compass perturbations, showing that these neurons specifically encode the goal direction. Overall, we here discovered invertebrate goal-direction neurons that share functional similarities to goal-direction cells reported in mammals. Our results give insights into the evolutionarily conserved principles of goal-directed spatial orientation in animals.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.