Ellipsoid body subset neurons induce pivot behaviour in Drosophila

Many animals maintain certain forms of internal compass. The ellipsoid body in the central complex of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is considered to receive and process multiple signals for orientation and navigation. Here we report the pivot behaviour, where a free moving fly keeps turning near a fixed point upon activation of neurons in the central complex. Using clonal analysis, we narrowed down the responsible neurons to a specific class of ellipsoid body neurons, ER2_c. A trans-synaptic tracing analysis indicated that these neurons are connected downstream to structures estimating head direction in the recent ring attractor model. Together, we identified ER2_c responsible for pivot behaviour, furtherly, our results provided evidence that ring neurons manage inherent directions, which contributed to a deeper picture of ring attractor model.