Data from: The function and organization of the motor system controlling flight maneuvers in flies

Animals face the daunting task of controlling their limbs using a small
set of highly constrained actuators. This problem is particularly
demanding for insects such as Drosophila, which must adjust wing motion
for both quick voluntary maneuvers and slow compensatory reflexes using
only a dozen pairs of muscles. To identify strategies by which animals
execute precise actions using sparse motor networks, we imaged the
activity of a complete ensemble of wing control muscles in intact, flying
flies. Our experiments uncovered a remarkably efficient logic in which
each of the four skeletal elements at the base of the wing are equipped
with both large phasically active muscles capable of executing large
changes and smaller tonically active muscles specialized for continuous
fine-scaled adjustments. Based on the responses to a broad panel of visual
motion stimuli, we have developed a model by which the motor array
regulates aerodynamically functional features of wing motion.