{
  "abstract": "Rapid defensive actions require the transformation of sensory cues into appropriate motor responses. The superior colliculus is central to this transformation, containing defined cell-types that form parallel output pathways linking visual inputs to distinct behaviors. However, whether these pathways act independently or cooperate remains unclear. Here we combine cell-type-specific inhibition, large-scale electrophysiology, and functional ultrasound imaging to determine how these pathways contribute to visually evoked defensive behaviors. Inhibiting either narrow-field or wide-field neurons impaired escape to overhead visual threats, demonstrating that both pathways contribute to escape. Recordings from downstream targets revealed a compact representation in the deeper layers of the superior colliculus that selectively distinguished visual stimuli associated with escape, whereas the lateral posterior thalamus contained a broader representation of visual stimuli. The representation of visual threat in the deeper layers of the superior colliculus predicted escape initiation and vigor in freely moving animals. Across the brain, functional ultrasound imaging showed that visual stimuli recruited distinct patterns of activity that could not be explained by response magnitude alone or by the contribution of single cell-types. Together, these results reveal a cooperative circuit architecture in which parallel pathways carry distinct but complementary signals that jointly support visually evoked escape.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "VIB Center for Neuroscience. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Department of Biology, KU Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria.",
    "Paris Brain Institute. Paris, France.",
    "Imec. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "VIB Center for AI and Computational Biology. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Department of Computer Science, KU Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Department of Electrical Engineering, KU Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven. Leuven, Belgium.",
    "Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven. Leuven, Belgium."
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Bram Nuttin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Arnau Sans-Dublanc"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Anna Chrzanowska"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chen Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zoi Drakaki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Laura Hanson"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rik Luykx"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Amber Bruynsteen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Adrien Philippon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Micheline Grillet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Norma Kühn"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Pedro J. Gonçalves"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Gabriel Montaldo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Vincent Bonin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Alan Urban",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6460-2364"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Karl Farrow",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1409-096X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1wha62xstyrxb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.12.758428",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758428v1.full",
  "id": "1wha62xstyrxb",
  "issns": [
    "2692-8205"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758428v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Visual perception and processing mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222880835",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758428v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13733716",
  "pmid": "42990176",
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Preprints",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1wha62xstyrxb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:24Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.12.758428",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758428v3"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:23:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13733716",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.12.758428"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cooperative processing of visual threat across collicular pathways",
  "title_text": "Cooperative processing of visual threat across collicular pathways",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:23:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1wha62xstyrxb",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}