AF7 corresponds to the Accessory Pretectal Nucleus in the adult. (Antinucci et al., 2019)
Schematic showing the approximate location of AF-7 in a 6dpf zebrafish. The optic tract is labelled in the Tg(atoh7:RFP) transgenic line and position of AFs are based on the data from Robles (2014).
AF-7 is preferentially innervated by Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) located in the nasal retina (Robles et al., 2014).
Visual Behaviours associated with AF-7
Neurons in the pretectal area associated with AF-7 are activated by prey-like stimuli. This pretectal region is innervated by two types of retinal ganglion cells, that also send collaterals to the stratum opticum (SO) layer of the optic tectum. Pretectal neurons with dendritic arbors in AF-7 project to multiple sensory and premotor areas including the optic tectum, the nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (nMLF) and the hindbrain (Antinucci et al., 2019; Semmelhack et al., 2014; Robles et al., 2014; Xiao & Baier., 2007).
“A prey stimulus on the left activates RGCs in the left eye which project to AF-7 and the SO layer of the right tectum. Pretectal neurons arborize in AF-7 and send projections to the tectum or the nMLF and hindbrain. Activation of this circuitry produces a j-turn to the left, turning the larva in the direction of the prey. “ (Semmelhack et al., 2014)
Publications
Antinucci P, Folgueira M, Bianco IH.(2019)
Pretectal neurons control hunting behaviour.
eLife 8 doi.org/10.7554/eLife.48114
Semmelhack, J.L., Donovan, J.C., Thiele, T.R., Kuehn, E., Laurell, E., Baier, H. (2014)
A dedicated visual pathway for prey detection in larval zebrafish.
eLIFE. 4:299-307.
Barker, A.J., Baier, H. (2015)
Sensorimotor Decision Making in the Zebrafish Tectum.
Current biology : CB. 25:2804-14.
Robles, E., Laurell, E., Baier, H. (2014)
The Retinal Projectome Reveals Brain-Area-Specific Visual Representations Generated by Ganglion Cell Diversity.
Current biology : CB. 24(18):2085-96.
Yáñez, J., Suárez, T., Quelle, A., Folgueira, M., Anadón, R. (2018)
Neural connections of the pretectum in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
The Journal of comparative neurology. 526(6):1017-1040.
Burrill JD & Easter Jr SS
Development of the Retinofugal projections.
J Comp Neurology, 2004 pp.1-18.
Yáñez, J., Suárez, T., Quelle, A., Folgueira, M., Anadón, R. (2018)
Neural connections of the pretectum in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
The Journal of comparative neurology. 526(6):1017-1040.