An Adaptive Visuomotor Transformation Reservoir Embedded in the Vertebrate Brain

Adaptive sensorimotor transformation is essential for animal survival in dynamic environments. The optic tectum (OT), homologous to the mammalian superior colliculus, serves as a central hub for visuomotor processing. To elucidate how OT circuits discriminate visual inputs and generate relevant behavior outputs, we leveraged the mesoscopic connectome of zebrafish OT to build a biophysically constrained reservoir computing network that models visuomotor transformations. In silico lesion revealed that the accuracy and robustness of sensorimotor outputs are governed by different combinations of tectal interneuron (TIN) subtypes. Furthermore, specific lamina-projecting serotoninergic subsystems distinctly bias network output toward either escape or orienting behaviors via regulating TIN activities. Our findings establish a mesoscopic connectome-based reservoir for vertebrate sensorimotor processing, where TINs control accuracy and robustness, highlighting TINs as a tunable gate and serotoninergic neurons as a context-dependent modulator of behavioral flexibility.