The patterns of neuronal connectivity underlying multisensory integration, a fundamental property of many brains, remain poorly characterized. The Drosophila melanogaster mushroom body—an associative center—is an ideal system to investigate how different sensory channels converge in higher order brain centers. The neurons connecting the mushroom body to the olfactory system have been described in great detail, but input from other sensory systems remains poorly defined. Here, we use a range of anatomical and genetic techniques to identify two types of input neuron that connect visual processing centers—the lobula and the posterior lateral protocerebrum—to the dorsal accessory calyx of the mushroom body. Together with previous work that described a pathway conveying visual information from the medulla to the ventral accessory calyx of the mushroom body, our study defines a second, parallel pathway that is anatomically poised to convey information from the visual system to the dorsal accessory calyx.

多感觉整合（许多大脑的基本特性）背后的神经元连接模式仍然知之甚少。果蝇蘑菇体（一个联合中心）是研究不同感觉通道如何在高级大脑中心汇聚的理想系统。连接蘑菇体和嗅觉系统的神经元已经被详细描述，但来自其他感觉系统的输入仍然不明确。在这里，我们使用一系列解剖和遗传学技术来识别两种类型的输入神经元，它们将视觉处理中心（小叶和后外侧原大脑）连接到蘑菇体的背侧副花萼。与之前描述的将视觉信息从髓质传递到蘑菇体腹侧副花萼的通路一起，我们的研究定义了第二条平行通路，该通路在解剖学上准备将信息从视觉系统传递到背侧副花萼。