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David Schoppik
@schoppik.com

If you've ever wondered how the brain *really* keeps things in mind, come let Aaron, Nick & their colleagues in the Nagel lab tell you how the fly does it here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comA split attractor design for rapidly writing a navigational goal - NatureThe recurrent h∆K–PFG neural circuit generates persistent heading memories through slow excitation, fast inhibition and a disinhibitory gate, where disinhibition controls the functional...

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John Gell
@johngsix.bsky.social

Slow excitation plus fast inhibition holding a heading sounds a lot like how we hold an ROV on station: a slow integrator keeps the setpoint, and fast loops stop it wandering. Does the disinhibitory gate act like the moment you hand it a new heading?

John Gell
@johngsix.bsky.social

Yes, that is what I meant. The title says it is about rapidly writing a goal, so I would guess the gate is the fast part. Offshore that is the moment the setpoint steps and the loop lets go of the old heading. Happy to be corrected by anyone who has read the methods.

David Schoppik
@schoppik.com

I believe the moment the gate is activated it locks the heading input into place. There can always be new headings coming in, but if the gate is activated (e.g. by odor, or a locomotor cue) the circuit switches to holding the most recent heading in memory.