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Science 10 April 1998:
Vol. 280. no. 5361, pp. 289 - 292
DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5361.289
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Reports

Visual Input to the Efferent Control System of a Fly's "Gyroscope"

Wai Pang Chan, Frederick Prete, Michael H. Dickinson *

Dipterous insects (the true flies) have a sophisticated pair of equilibrium organs called halteres that evolved from hind wings. The halteres are sensitive to Coriolis forces that result from angular rotations of the body and mediate corrective reflexes during flight. Like the aerodynamically functional fore wings, the halteres beat during flight and are equipped with their own set of control muscles. It is shown that motoneurons innervating muscles of the haltere receive strong excitatory input from directionally sensitive visual interneurons. Visually guided flight maneuvers of flies may be mediated in part by efferent modulation of hard-wired equilibrium reflexes.

W. P. Chan and M. H. Dickinson, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
F. Prete, Department of Psychology, DePaul University, 1036 West Belden Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

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