| Title: | Excitation and inhibition onto central courtship neurons biases Drosophila mate choice |
| Author(s): | Kallman BR; Kim H; Scott K; |
| Address: | "Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States. Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2050-084X (Electronic) 2050-084X (Print) 2050-084X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The ability to distinguish males from females is essential for productive mate selection and species propagation. Recent studies in Drosophila have identified different classes of contact chemosensory neurons that detect female or male pheromones and influence courtship decisions. Here, we examine central neural pathways in the male brain that process female and male pheromones using anatomical, calcium imaging, optogenetic, and behavioral studies. We find that sensory neurons that detect female pheromones, but not male pheromones, activate a novel class of neurons in the ventral nerve cord to cause activation of P1 neurons, male-specific command neurons that trigger courtship. In addition, sensory neurons that detect male pheromones, as well as those that detect female pheromones, activate central mAL neurons to inhibit P1. These studies demonstrate that the balance of excitatory and inhibitory drives onto central courtship-promoting neurons controls mating decisions" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Brain/physiology Courtship Drosophila/*physiology Neural Pathways/*physiology Neurons, Efferent/physiology Sensory Receptor Cells/physiology *Sexual Behavior, Animal D.melanogaster mating behavior neural circuits neuroscience pheromones sensory p;neuroscience;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKallman, Benjamin R Kim, Heesoo Scott, Kristin eng R01 DC013280/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural England 2015/11/17 Elife. 2015 Nov 14; 4:e11188. doi: 10.7554/eLife.11188" |
