(n/n) The parallels with insect navigation systems suggest deep conservation of spatial computation principles across evolution. Thanks to the team! For more read the full paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

(9/n) This work reveals how vertebrate navigation circuits organize multiple spatial signals (heading direction, visual motion, and landmarks) in aligned topographic maps, enabling flexible integration for navigation.

(8/n) This shows the habenula specifically provides landmark information to anchor the heading system to visual scenes.

(7/n) Habenula ablations revealed:

- Visual motion responses in the IPN persist without habenular input
- Landmark representations in the IPN require intact habenula
- The heading direction network continues to function normally in darkness without habenular input

(6/n) But here's the surprise: using targeted ablations, we found the habenula's role is highly specific.

(5/n) Critically, this striped organization aligns with how HD is represented in the same regions - suggesting the IPN as an integration site for spatial signals.

Where do these visual signals come from? The habenula contains neurons responding to both directional motion and landmark position.

(4/n) What we found reveals a striking organizational principle 👇

In the dorsal IPN, both directional motion AND landmark position are topographically organized in parasagittal stripes (running front-to-back).

(3/n) We wanted to address a fundamental question in navigation: how do animals integrate visual cues like optic flow (indicating traveling direction) and landmarks (for anchoring position) with their internal sense of heading direction?

(2/n) We discovered that navigationally relevant visual signals are topographically organized in the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) and aligned with the heading direction signal.

Indeed, it is interesting to think how far one could push this analogy and to speculate how the joint constraints of genetics and environmental statistics contribute to this architecture.

Unfortunately I cannot be there this year (I am jealous), but it is great to see the familiar location and the same dedication to sharing and enjoying science by the TENSS family: Raul, Florin, Priyanka, the TAs: Sriram, Anna Maria, and Fred back there looking out the window.