Neuropeptide F and mushroom body neurons acutely control Food­ seeking behavior in adult fruit flies

ALVAREZ PAULO AUGUSTO; MARIO RAFAEL PAGANI; RAMIREZ MAURO

CORDOBA

Congreso; XXXIII CONGRESO ANUAL SAN 2018; 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

How motivational drives shift from novelty­seeking behavior (NSB) to food­seeking behavior (FSB)is unclear. We recently have adapted the novel object recognition behavioral test to fruit flies. In this assay we found that fed flies show preference for novelty, whereas fasting impaired recognition memory, but not habituation or olfactory conditioning memory. We hypothesized that in hungry flies, hunger but not novelty drives the behavior. To analyze the relationship between NSB and FSB we began by developing a behavioral assay to examine and quantify FSB in the context of object recognition. Here we show that neuropeptide F and mushroom body (MB) neurons, but not insulin-­like peptide release, acutely control FSB in adult fruit flies. First, we set the conditions where fasted flies strongly prefer an object loaded with food compared with an empty object. Then we examined the requirement of different neuronal components in FSB. Acute thermogenetic inhibition of the synaptic output of NPF neurons by Shits1 completely abolishes FSB in fasted flies, in agreement with previous reports. In addition, acute thermogenetic inhibition of the synaptic output of all MB neurons also abolished FSB in fasted flies. More interesting, the inhibition of the synaptic output of all MB neurons in flies fed ad libitum promotes FSB, indicating that MB neurons constitutively inhibit FSB in fed flies. Ongoing experiments explore the role of NPF and MB neurons in NSB in fasted flies.