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Whereas motor command strength was independent of projection allocation, asymmetric projections enabled more accurate representation of nose-up stimuli. To infer whether asymmetric projections can facilitate sensory encoding or motor output, we modeled differentially projecting sets of central vestibular neurons. In addition to projecting to motoneurons, central vestibular neurons also receive direct sensory input from peripheral afferents. This asymmetrically projecting central population thus participates in both upward and downward gaze stabilization. When these neurons are ablated, fish failed to rotate their eyes following either nose-up or nose-down body tilts. Concordantly, when the entire population of asymmetrically projecting neurons was stimulated collectively, only downward eye rotations were observed, demonstrating a functional correlate of the anatomical bias. First, we found that neurons within this central population project preferentially to motoneurons that move the eyes downward. To address this problem, we mapped the anatomy, modeled the function, and discovered a new behavioral role for a genetically defined population of central vestibular neurons in rhombomeres 5–7 of larval zebrafish.

A major challenge is to relate anatomical features of central neural populations, such as asymmetric connectivity, to the computations the populations perform.

Within reflex circuits, specific anatomical projections allow central neurons to relay sensations to effectors that generate movements.