Data from: Spatiotemporally precise optogenetic activation of sensory neurons in freely walking Drosophila

Previous work has characterized how walking Drosophila coordinate the
movements of individual limbs (DeAngelis, Zavatone-Veth, and Clark, 2019).
To understand the circuit basis of this coordination, one must
characterize how sensory feedback from each limb affects walking behavior.
However, it has remained difficult to manipulate neural activity in
individual limbs of freely moving animals. Here, we demonstrate a simple
method for optogenetic stimulation with body side-, body segment-, and
limb-specificity that does not require real-time tracking. Instead, we
activate at random, precise locations in time and space and use post hoc
analysis to determine behavioral responses to specific activations. Using
this method, we have characterized limb coordination and walking behavior
in response to transient activation of mechanosensitive bristle neurons
and sweet-sensing chemoreceptor neurons. Our findings reveal that
activating these neurons has opposite effects on turning, and that
activations in different limbs and body regions produce distinct
behaviors.