Synaptic placement reflects shared input in Drosophila descending neurons
Abstract
Network topology describes connections between neurons, whereas synaptic placement specifies how those connections are arranged within individual cells. How these levels of organization correspond remains incompletely understood. Here we show that connectivity between presynaptic neurons is reflected in relative input placement within Drosophila descending neurons (DNs). Across thousands of one-way DN connections in the independently reconstructed MaleCNS and FlyWire brains, inputs from sources also contacting the partner DN lay on average 9.4 and 8.0 μm nearer that partner's inputs along the receiver's neurites than other non-DN inputs. The same ordering held when source-input positions were fixed and partners with and without recorded source input were compared after standardizing reference-set size. In BANC and MaleCNS, shared input and measured spatial overlap provided complementary predictive information about DN interconnection. Two interconnected DNs sharing an ascending source differed in their identified cord outputs. Together, these findings link a three-neuron topological relationship to relative input placement, revealing a correspondence between network connectivity and the internal spatial organization of a receiving neuron.
Related
- Organization of circuits linking descending input to motor output in the Drosophila Male Adult Nerve Cord connectome
- Adaptation to Synaptic Inactivity in Hippocampal Neurons
- Decoupling of spontaneous and evoked activity in locus coeruleus neurons: early synaptic and ion-channel remodeling in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
- Synaptic GABA dysfunction of thalamocortical neurons impairs sleep spindle morphology and fear extinction.
- The trade-off between fractal morphology and function of Drosophila neurons
BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026synaptic,
title = {{Synaptic placement reflects shared input in Drosophila descending neurons}},
author = {Xizhe Zhang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.00690},
eprint = {2610.00690},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00690},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Synaptic placement reflects shared input in Drosophila descending neurons
AU - Xizhe Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.00690
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00690
AB - Network topology describes connections between neurons, whereas synaptic placement specifies how those connections are arranged within individual cells. How these levels of organization correspond remains incompletely understood. Here we show that connectivity between presynaptic neurons is reflected in relative input placement within Drosophila descending neurons (DNs). Across thousands of one-way DN connections in the independently reconstructed MaleCNS and FlyWire brains, inputs from sources also contacting the partner DN lay on average 9.4 and 8.0 μm nearer that partner's inputs along the receiver's neurites than other non-DN inputs. The same ordering held when source-input positions were fixed and partners with and without recorded source input were compared after standardizing reference-set size. In BANC and MaleCNS, shared input and measured spatial overlap provided complementary predictive information about DN interconnection. Two interconnected DNs sharing an ascending source differed in their identified cord outputs. Together, these findings link a three-neuron topological relationship to relative input placement, revealing a correspondence between network connectivity and the internal spatial organization of a receiving neuron.
ER -