GABAergic Retinal Ganglion Cells Projecting to the Superior Colliculus Mediate the Looming-Evoked Flight Response  

作　　者：Man Yuan Gao Tan Danrui Cai Xue Luo Kejiong Shen Qinqin Deng Xinlan Lei Wen-Bo Zeng Min-Hua Luo Lu Huang Chaoran Ren Yin Shen 

机构地区：[1]Eye Center,Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University,Wuhan University,Wuhan,430060,Hubei,China [2]State Key Laboratory of Virology,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology,Wuhan Institute of Virology,Wuhan,430071,China [3]Department of Neurology and Stroke Center,The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University,Guangzhou,510632,China [4]Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Institute of CNS Regeneration,Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory,Jinan University,Guangzhou,510632,China [5]Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory,Guangzhou,510530,China [6]Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism,Medical Research Institute,Wuhan University,Wuhan,430071,China

出　　处：《Neuroscience Bulletin》2024年第12期1886-1900,共15页神经科学通报(英文版)

基　　金：supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China(2017YFE0103400);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81470628 and 82471086).

摘　　要：The looming stimulus-evoked flight response to approaching predators is a defensive behavior in most animals. However, how looming stimuli are detected in the retina and transmitted to the brain remains unclear. Here, we report that a group of GABAergic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) projecting to the superior colliculus (SC) transmit looming signals from the retina to the brain, mediating the looming-evoked flight behavior by releasing GABA. GAD2-Cre and vGAT-Cre transgenic mice were used in combination with Cre-activated anterograde or retrograde tracer viruses to map the inputs to specific GABAergic RGC circuits. Optogenetic technology was used to assess the function of SC-projecting GABAergic RGCs (scpgRGCs) in the SC. FDIO-DTA (Flp-dependent Double-Floxed Inverted Open reading frame-Diphtheria toxin) combined with the FLP (Florfenicol, Lincomycin & Prednisolone) approach was used to ablate or silence scpgRGCs. In the mouse retina, GABAergic RGCs project to different brain areas, including the SC. ScpgRGCs are monosynaptically connected to parvalbumin-positive SC neurons known to be required for the looming-evoked flight response. Optogenetic activation of scpgRGCs triggers GABA-mediated inhibition in SC neurons. Ablation or silencing of scpgRGCs compromises looming-evoked flight responses without affecting image-forming functions. Our study reveals that scpgRGCs control the looming-evoked flight response by regulating SC neurons via GABA, providing novel insight into the regulation of innate defensive behaviors.

关 键 词：scpgRGCs Innate defensive behavior GABA LOOMING Superior colliculus Flight response 

分 类 号：R339.14[医药卫生—人体生理学]