Abstract
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster responds behaviorally to sound, gravity, and wind. Exposure to male courtship songs results in reduced locomotion in females, whereas males begin to chase each other. When agitated, fruit flies tend to move against gravity. When faced with air currents, they ‘freeze’ in place. Based on recent studies, Johnston’s hearing organ, the antennal ear of the fruit fly, serves as a sensor for all of these mechanosensory stimuli. Compartmentalization of sense cells in Johnston’s organ into vibration-sensitive and deflection-sensitive neural groups allows this single organ to mediate such varied functions. Sound and gravity/wind signals sensed by these two neuronal groups travel in parallel from the fly ear to the brain, feeding into neural pathways reminiscent of the auditory and vestibular pathways in the human brain. Studies of the similarities between mammals and flies will lead to a better understanding of the principles of how sound and gravity information is encoded in the brain. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of these principles and discuss the advantages of the fruit fly as a model system to explore the fundamental principles of how neural circuits and their ensembles process and integrate sensory information in the brain.
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Abbreviations
- AMMC:
-
Antennal mechanosensory and motor center
- eCFP:
-
Enhanced cyan fluorescent protein
- eYFP:
-
Enhanced yellow fluorescent protein
- GFP:
-
Green fluorescent protein
- JO:
-
Johnston’s organ
- NAN :
-
Nanchung
- IAV :
-
Inactive
- ORNs:
-
Olfactory sensory neurons
- SEG:
-
Subesophageal ganglion
- TRP:
-
Transient receptor potential
- UAS:
-
Upstream activation sequence
- VLP:
-
Ventrolateral protocerebrum
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Human Frontier Science Program; PRESTO program “Decoding and controlling brain information” from the Japan Science and Technology Agency; and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Systems Molecular Ethology” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan.
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Matsuo, E., Kamikouchi, A. Neuronal encoding of sound, gravity, and wind in the fruit fly. J Comp Physiol A 199, 253–262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0806-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0806-x