Behavioral dissection of hunger states in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Hunger is a motivational drive that promotes feeding, and it can be generated by the physiological need to consume nutrients as well as the hedonic properties of food. Brain circuits and mechanisms that regulate feeding have been described, but which of these contribute to the generation of motive forces that drive feeding is unclear. Here, we describe our first efforts at behaviorally and neuronally distinguishing hedonic from homeostatic hunger states in Drosophila melanogaster and propose that this system can be used as a model to dissect the molecular mechanisms that underlie feeding motivation. We visually identify and quantify behaviors exhibited by hungry flies and find that increased feeding duration is a behavioral signature of hedonic feeding motivation. Using a geneticall

SUBMITTER: Weaver KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10328523 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature