Predictive saccades and decision making in the beetle-predating saffron robber fly

Curr Biol. 2023 Jun 20:S0960-9822(23)00770-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.019. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTInternal predictions about the sensory consequences of self-motion, encoded by corollary discharge, are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, including for fruit flies, dragonflies, and humans. In contrast, predicting the future location of an independently moving external target requires an internal model. With the use of internal models for predictive gaze control, vertebrate predatory species compensate for their sluggish visual systems and long sensorimotor latencies. This ability is crucial for the timely and accurate decisions that underpin a successful attack. Here, we directly demonstrate that the robber fly Laphria saffrana, a specialized beetle predator, also uses predictive gaze control when head tracking potential prey. Laphria uses this predictive ability to perform the difficult categorization and perceptual decision task of differentiating a beetle from other flying insects with a low spatial resolution retina. Specifically, we show that (1) this predictive behavior is part of a saccade-and-fixate strategy, (2) the relative target angular position and velocity, acquired during fixation, inform the subsequent predictive saccade, and (3) the predictive saccade provides Laphria with additional fixation time to sample the frequency of the prey's specular wing reflections. We also demonstrate that Laphria uses such wing reflections as a proxy for the wingbeat freq...

Source: Current Biology - June 28, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Jennifer Talley Siddhant Pusdekar Aaron Feltenberger Natalie Ketner Johnny Evers Molly Liu Atishya Gosh Stephanie E Palmer Trevor J Wardill Paloma T Gonzalez-Bellido Source Type: research