Highlights•Molecular cues and activity together shape visual circuit development.•Activity
influences development at all levels of the visual system.•Before vision, activity is generated …

What insects can see has been probed by over a century of behavioral experiments. Motion
and color vision have also been studied through neurophysiology in insect brains. Here I …

How are functional neural circuits formed during development? Despite recent advances in
our understanding of the development of individual neurons, little is known about how …

Neuronal birth and specification must be coordinated across the developing brain to
generate the neurons that constitute neural circuits. We used the Drosophila visual system to …

Patterns of synaptic connections in the visual system are remarkably precise. These
connections dictate the receptive field properties of individual visual neurons and ultimately …

A hallmark of the central nervous system is its spatial and functional organization in synaptic
layers. During neuronal development, axons form transient contacts with potential post …

The D rosophila optic lobe is composed of a wide variety of neurons that form laminar
structures and columnar units. The fly optic lobe shares structural features with the …

The photoreceptor neurons (R cells) of the Drosophila compound eye elaborate a precise
array of neuronal connections in the brain. These projections exhibit target specificity and …

The optic lobes comprise approximately halfofthe fly'sbrain. In four major synaptic ganglia, or
neuropils, the visual input from the compound eyes is received and processed for higher …

Neuronal growth cones select synaptic partners through interactions with multiple cell
surfaces in their environment. Many of these interactions are adhesive, yet it is unclear how …