Navigation on Land and in the Sea: Identifying the Core Components of an Ancient Neural System

Path integration (PI) is a neural computation that allows an animal to maintain an estimate of its position in space relative to its origin.

Many species, including bees and mantis shrimp, use PI vectors to navigate back to their homes in a straight line after convoluted excursions. How are these impressive behaviors neurally manifested in the tiny brains of arthropods?

Further, since PI is widespread, ranging from rodents to arthropods, how did it arise and are the underlying neural circuits and computational principles shared?

Despite a diversity of behaviors and ecologies in arthropods, their brains share a seemingly conserved ground pattern, allowing for identification of similar neural circuits in species separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution. I will thus study PI at far ends of the arthropod phylogenetic tree: in bumblebees and mantis shrimp.

Combining behavior, anatomy, and physiology, I aim to uncover the core circuits underlying PI across arthropods as a primary goal.

Specifically, I aim to behaviorally define vector navigation capabilities in walking bees and mantis shrimp, anatomically reveal PI circuits in mantis shrimp and compare them to those found in bees, and physiologically determine the neural correlate of vector memories in both species.Ultimately, this evolutionary approach aims to reveal the fundamental neural implementation strategy for PI in arthropods and elucidate the neural basis of PI memory for the first time in any animal.