A model of cue integration as vector summation in the insect brain
(2023) In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290(2001).- Abstract
Ball-rolling dung beetles are known to integrate multiple cues in order to facilitate their straight-line orientation behaviour. Recent work has suggested that orientation cues are integrated according to a vector sum, that is, compass cues are represented by vectors and summed to give a combined orientation estimate. Further, cue weight (vector magnitude) appears to be set according to cue reliability. This is consistent with the popular Bayesian view of cue integration: cues are integrated to reduce or minimize an agent's uncertainty about the external world. Integration of orientation cues is believed to occur at the input to the insect central complex. Here, we demonstrate that a model of the head direction circuit of the central... (More)
Ball-rolling dung beetles are known to integrate multiple cues in order to facilitate their straight-line orientation behaviour. Recent work has suggested that orientation cues are integrated according to a vector sum, that is, compass cues are represented by vectors and summed to give a combined orientation estimate. Further, cue weight (vector magnitude) appears to be set according to cue reliability. This is consistent with the popular Bayesian view of cue integration: cues are integrated to reduce or minimize an agent's uncertainty about the external world. Integration of orientation cues is believed to occur at the input to the insect central complex. Here, we demonstrate that a model of the head direction circuit of the central complex, including plasticity in input synapses, can act as a substrate for cue integration as vector summation. Further, we show that cue influence is not necessarily driven by cue reliability. Finally, we present a dung beetle behavioural experiment which, in combination with simulation, strongly suggests that these beetles do not weight cues according to reliability. We suggest an alternative strategy whereby cues are weighted according to relative contrast, which can also explain previous results.
(Less)
- author
- Mitchell, Robert ; Shaverdian, Shahrzad LU ; Dacke, Marie LU and Webb, Barbara
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- contrast, cue integration, neural model, plasticity, reliability, vector
- in
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- volume
- 290
- issue
- 2001
- article number
- 20230767
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37357865
- scopus:85162751437
- ISSN
- 0962-8452
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2023.0767
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 185a8818-9075-4777-9bf0-7c4719dfe12b
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-15 10:28:35
- date last changed
- 2024-04-20 03:20:43
@article{185a8818-9075-4777-9bf0-7c4719dfe12b,
abstract = {{<p>Ball-rolling dung beetles are known to integrate multiple cues in order to facilitate their straight-line orientation behaviour. Recent work has suggested that orientation cues are integrated according to a vector sum, that is, compass cues are represented by vectors and summed to give a combined orientation estimate. Further, cue weight (vector magnitude) appears to be set according to cue reliability. This is consistent with the popular Bayesian view of cue integration: cues are integrated to reduce or minimize an agent's uncertainty about the external world. Integration of orientation cues is believed to occur at the input to the insect central complex. Here, we demonstrate that a model of the head direction circuit of the central complex, including plasticity in input synapses, can act as a substrate for cue integration as vector summation. Further, we show that cue influence is not necessarily driven by cue reliability. Finally, we present a dung beetle behavioural experiment which, in combination with simulation, strongly suggests that these beetles do not weight cues according to reliability. We suggest an alternative strategy whereby cues are weighted according to relative contrast, which can also explain previous results.</p>}},
author = {{Mitchell, Robert and Shaverdian, Shahrzad and Dacke, Marie and Webb, Barbara}},
issn = {{0962-8452}},
keywords = {{contrast; cue integration; neural model; plasticity; reliability; vector}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2001}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}},
title = {{A model of cue integration as vector summation in the insect brain}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0767}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2023.0767}},
volume = {{290}},
year = {{2023}},
}