Social attraction in Drosophila is regulated by the mushroom body and serotonergic system.

ABSTRACT: Sociality is among the most important motivators of human behaviour. However, the neural mechanisms determining levels of sociality are largely unknown, primarily due to a lack of suitable animal models. Here, we report the presence of a surprising degree of general sociality in Drosophila. A newly-developed paradigm to study social approach behaviour in flies reveal that social cues perceive through both vision and olfaction converged in a central brain region, the γ lobe of the mushroom body, which exhibite activation in response to social experience. The activity of these γ neurons control the motivational drive for social interaction. At the molecular level, the serotonergic system is critical for social affinity. These results demonstrate that Drosophila are highly sociable, providing

SUBMITTER: Sun Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7582864 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature