Florian Engert
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View article: Dissecting Larval Zebrafish Hunting using Deep Reinforcement Learning Trained RNN Agents
Dissecting Larval Zebrafish Hunting using Deep Reinforcement Learning Trained RNN Agents Open
Larval zebrafish hunting provides a tractable setting to study how ecological and energetic constraints shape adaptive behavior in both biological brains and artificial agents. Here we develop a minimal agent-based model, training recurren…
View article: Attentional switching in larval zebrafish
Attentional switching in larval zebrafish Open
Decision-making strategies in the face of conflicting or uncertain sensory input have been successfully described in many species. We analyze large behavioral datasets of larval zebrafish engaged in a “coherent dot” optomotor assay and fin…
View article: Emergence of Functional Heart-Brain Circuits in a Vertebrate
Emergence of Functional Heart-Brain Circuits in a Vertebrate Open
The early formation of sensorimotor circuits is essential for survival. While the development and function of exteroceptive circuits and their associated motor pathways are well characterized, far less is known about the circuits that conv…
View article: Divergent spatiotemporal integration of whole-field visual motion in medaka and zebrafish
Divergent spatiotemporal integration of whole-field visual motion in medaka and zebrafish Open
Animals in different ecological niches have evolved different sensory capacities to detect behaviorally relevant sensory signals. How behavioral algorithms and neural networks adapt to environmental demands remains unknown. We compared spa…
View article: Imaging cellular activity simultaneously across all organs of a vertebrate reveals body-wide circuits
Imaging cellular activity simultaneously across all organs of a vertebrate reveals body-wide circuits Open
All cells in an animal collectively ensure, moment-to-moment, the survival of the whole organism in the face of environmental stressors 1,2 . Physiology seeks to elucidate the intricate network of interactions that sustain life, which ofte…
View article: Collective Behavior in Medaka Fish Depends on Discrete Kinematic States of Swimming Behavior
Collective Behavior in Medaka Fish Depends on Discrete Kinematic States of Swimming Behavior Open
Complex collective behaviors such as schooling are believed to emerge from simple, individual-level computations that translate incoming information from conspecifics into actions. Recently, it has been proposed that discrete behavioral mo…
View article: Fishexplorer: A multimodal cellular atlas platform for neuronal circuit dissection in larval zebrafish
Fishexplorer: A multimodal cellular atlas platform for neuronal circuit dissection in larval zebrafish Open
Understanding how neural circuits give rise to behavior requires comprehensive knowledge of neuronal morphology, connectivity, and function. Atlas platforms play a critical role in enabling the visualization, exploration, and dissemination…
View article: Norepinephrine changes behavioral state through astroglial purinergic signaling
Norepinephrine changes behavioral state through astroglial purinergic signaling Open
Both neurons and glia communicate through diffusible neuromodulators; however, how neuron-glial interactions in such neuromodulatory networks influence circuit computation and behavior is unclear. During futility-induced behavioral transit…
View article: Lrrns define a visual circuit underlying brightness and contrast perception
Lrrns define a visual circuit underlying brightness and contrast perception Open
Brightness and contrast are fundamental features of vision, crucial for object detection, environmental navigation, and feeding. Here, we identify a brightness-and contrast-processing circuit in the zebrafish visual system and uncover the …
View article: A Spinal Circuit for Hypoxia-Evoked Motor Output in Zebrafish Larvae
A Spinal Circuit for Hypoxia-Evoked Motor Output in Zebrafish Larvae Open
Oxygen availability is a critical environmental variable that shapes animal physiology and behavior. In larval zebrafish, acute hypoxia elicits a distinct increase in rhythmic pectoral fin movements, a behavior thought to facilitate oxygen…
View article: Cardiac interoception impacts behavior and brain-wide neuronal dynamics
Cardiac interoception impacts behavior and brain-wide neuronal dynamics Open
SUMMARY We sought to explore the question as to whether an animal’s behavior can be modified by internal physiological changes. We focused on the optomotor response, in which an animal moves in response to visual gratings, because it is qu…
View article: Whole-brain, all-optical interrogation of neuronal dynamics underlying gut interoception in zebrafish
Whole-brain, all-optical interrogation of neuronal dynamics underlying gut interoception in zebrafish Open
Internal signals from the body and external signals from the environment are processed by brain-wide circuits to guide behavior. However, the complete brain-wide circuit activity underlying interoception—the perception of bodily signals—an…
View article: Correlative light and electron microscopy reveals the fine circuit structure underlying evidence accumulation in larval zebrafish
Correlative light and electron microscopy reveals the fine circuit structure underlying evidence accumulation in larval zebrafish Open
Evidence accumulation is a fundamental neural computation essential for adaptive behavior, yet its synaptic implementation remains unclear. Addressing this challenge critically depends on linking neural dynamics to circuit structure within…
View article: ZAPBench: A Benchmark for Whole-Brain Activity Prediction in Zebrafish
ZAPBench: A Benchmark for Whole-Brain Activity Prediction in Zebrafish Open
Data-driven benchmarks have led to significant progress in key scientific modeling domains including weather and structural biology. Here, we introduce the Zebrafish Activity Prediction Benchmark (ZAPBench) to measure progress on the probl…
View article: Forecasting Whole-Brain Neuronal Activity from Volumetric Video
Forecasting Whole-Brain Neuronal Activity from Volumetric Video Open
Large-scale neuronal activity recordings with fluorescent calcium indicators are increasingly common, yielding high-resolution 2D or 3D videos. Traditional analysis pipelines reduce this data to 1D traces by segmenting regions of interest,…
View article: Paired and solitary ionocytes in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium
Paired and solitary ionocytes in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium Open
The sense of smell is generated by electrical currents that are influenced by the concentration of ions in olfactory sensory neurons and mucus. In contrast to the extensive morphological and molecular characterization of sensory neurons, t…
View article: Ketamine induces plasticity in a norepinephrine-astroglial circuit to promote behavioral perseverance
Ketamine induces plasticity in a norepinephrine-astroglial circuit to promote behavioral perseverance Open
Transient exposure to ketamine can trigger lasting changes in behavior and mood. We found that brief ketamine exposure causes long-term suppression of futility-induced passivity in larval zebrafish, reversing the "giving-up" response that …
View article: Paired and solitary ionocytes in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium
Paired and solitary ionocytes in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium Open
The sense of smell is generated by electrical currents that are influenced by the concentration of ions in olfactory sensory neurons and mucus. In contrast to the extensive morphological and molecular characterization of sensory neurons, t…
View article: Experience-dependent modulation of collective behavior in larval zebrafish
Experience-dependent modulation of collective behavior in larval zebrafish Open
Complex group behavior can emerge from simple inter-individual interactions. Commonly, these interactions are considered static and hardwired and little is known about how experience and learning affect collective group behavior. Young lar…
View article: Norepinephrine changes behavioral state via astroglial purinergic signaling
Norepinephrine changes behavioral state via astroglial purinergic signaling Open
Both neurons and glia communicate via diffusible neuromodulatory substances, but the substrates of computation in such neuromodulatory networks are unclear. During behavioral transitions in the larval zebrafish, the neuromodulator norepine…
View article: Multi-species community platform for comparative neuroscience in teleost fish
Multi-species community platform for comparative neuroscience in teleost fish Open
Studying neural mechanisms in complementary model organisms from different ecological niches in the same animal class can leverage the comparative brain analysis at the cellular level. To advance such a direction, we developed a unified br…
View article: Functional neuronal circuits emerge in the absence of developmental activity
Functional neuronal circuits emerge in the absence of developmental activity Open
The complex neuronal circuitry of the brain develops from limited information contained in the genome. After the genetic code instructs the birth of neurons, the emergence of brain regions, and the formation of axon tracts, it is believed …
View article: Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish
Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish Open
Habituation allows animals to learn to ignore persistent but inconsequential stimuli. Despite being the most basic form of learning, a consensus model on the underlying mechanisms has yet to emerge. To probe relevant mechanisms, we took ad…
View article: Attentional Switching in Larval Zebrafish: The Attentive Leaky Integrator
Attentional Switching in Larval Zebrafish: The Attentive Leaky Integrator Open
Decision making strategies in the face of conflicting or uncertain sensory input have been successfully described by a drift diffusion to bound model (DDM) in many different species. Here we analyze large behavioral datasets of larval zebr…
View article: Reviewer #2 (Public Review): Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish
Reviewer #2 (Public Review): Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish Open
Habituation allows animals to learn to ignore persistent but inconsequential stimuli. Despite being the most basic form of learning, a consensus model on the underlying mechanisms has yet to emerge. To probe relevant mechanisms we took adv…
View article: Author Response: Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish
Author Response: Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish Open
Habituation allows animals to learn to ignore persistent but inconsequential stimuli. Despite being the most basic form of learning, a consensus model on the underlying mechanisms has yet to emerge. To probe relevant mechanisms we took adv…
View article: Reviewer #1 (Public Review): Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish
Reviewer #1 (Public Review): Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish Open
Habituation allows animals to learn to ignore persistent but inconsequential stimuli. Despite being the most basic form of learning, a consensus model on the underlying mechanisms has yet to emerge. To probe relevant mechanisms we took adv…
View article: Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish
Functional and pharmacological analyses of visual habituation learning in larval zebrafish Open
Habituation allows animals to learn to ignore persistent but inconsequential stimuli. Despite being the most basic form of learning, a consensus model on the underlying mechanisms has yet to emerge. To probe relevant mechanisms we took adv…
View article: Olfactory detection of viruses shapes brain immunity and behavior in zebrafish
Olfactory detection of viruses shapes brain immunity and behavior in zebrafish Open
Olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) are constantly exposed to pathogens, including viruses. However, serious brain infection via the olfactory route rarely occurs. When OSNs detect a virus, they coordinate local antiviral immune responses to …