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Project 3

Foraging under Threat: Dopaminergic Control of Dynamic Goal-Oriented Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Animals must balance food search with avoidance of acute or persistent threats, including dangerous temperatures. In addition, the brain needs to encode and integrate information on metabolic and other physiological needs to ensure appropriate context-dependent behavioral responses. Dopaminergic (DA) signaling in a central part of the insect brain, the mushroom body, plays a conserved key role in the integration of external and internal stimuli to drive goal directed behavior. How and where exactly these DA signals are integrated in the mushroom body circuit and how opposing needs are adjusting these signals to compute favored behavioral outcomes is currently not known. We hypothesize that distinct DA signals are integrated in the mushroom body in a context and physiological state-dependent manner to tune its output activity and behavior.

We aim to precisely determine how, where and what type of DA signaling impinges on the Drosophila mushroom body network to adjust goal-directed foraging behavior in the presence of a temperature threat. To this end, we will investigate foraging depending on competing metabolic and physiological needs in larval and adult Drosophila melanogaster. We will analyze the effect of metabolic need and how it influences the perception of a temperature threat in the presence of a food source by establishing corresponding behavioral readouts. Taking advantage of the larval/adult fly connectome paired with specific genetic and optogenetic manipulation of DopR signaling, we will further dissect the circuits regulating temperature- and metabolic state-dependent foraging behavior. Lastly, we will dissect how metabolic state and temperature impinge on spatial and temporal DA signaling using functional imaging and food tracking behavior to elucidate temporospatial second-messenger signals. This will enable optogenetic modulation of the behavioral outcome in the identical temporal fashion to gain profound insight into how different types of DA signaling influence this behavior. Our overall objective is to provide a complete view of how integration of the sensory context and physiological states by DA signaling modulates circuit output to adjust innate behavior and maximize optimal outcomes for survival.


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