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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.11.10.687578

Predatory orienting is jointly controlled by optic tectum and pretectum.

Antinucci, P.·Colinas-Fischer, S.·Bianco, I. H.
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Abstract

The optic tectum and pretectum have been implicated in hunting behaviour in several species but how activity in these regions is coordinated to control target-directed orienting manoeuvres is not understood. We performed two-photon calcium imaging across these brain regions in larval zebrafish, which revealed space and rate-coded premotor activity associated with graded, prey-directed eye and tail movements. Consistent with imaging data, intensity-modulated optogenetic stimulation of pretectum induced progressively more lateralised contraversive orienting behaviour and spatially patterned stimulation of optic tectum revealed a motor map along the anterior-posterior axis that primarily generated ipsiversive responses. Anatomical tracing and laser axotomies indicated that pretectal neurons control contraversive turns via a crossed pretectobulbar pathway whereas optic tectum shows topographically patterned output with a major uncrossed projection to hindbrain. Our data support a model in which premotor activity across pretectum and optic tectum collectively controls predatory orienting via both crossed and uncrossed (pre)-tectobulbar pathways.

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Antinucci, P., Colinas-Fischer, S., Bianco, I. H.. 2025-11-11. Predatory orienting is jointly controlled by optic tectum and pretectum.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.10.687578

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