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The CApillary FEeder Assay Measures Food Intake in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: March 17, 2017
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Feeding regulation in Drosophila.
Allan-Hermann Pool1, Kristin Scott2
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|June 18, 2014
Summary
Neuromodulators fine-tune fruit fly feeding behaviors by linking internal needs to external cues. This review explores how these molecules enable behavioral plasticity in Drosophila.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Neuromodulators are crucial for adapting animal behavior to environmental and internal signals.
- Understanding these adaptations is key to deciphering complex biological processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the regulation of Drosophila feeding behavior by neuromodulators.
- To illustrate how neuromodulators achieve behavioral plasticity.
- To highlight the connection between physiological needs, neuromodulatory states, and feeding decisions.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent molecular and cellular studies on Drosophila feeding.
- Analysis of mechanisms translating metabolic needs into neuroendocrine and neuromodulatory changes.
Main Results:
- Neuromodulators translate metabolic needs into neuroendocrine and neuromodulatory states.
- These states influence discrete feeding behavioral subprograms.
- Links between physiological needs, neuromodulatory states, and feeding decisions are established.
Conclusions:
- Neuromodulators are central to behavioral plasticity in feeding.
- Drosophila serves as a model for understanding these complex regulatory mechanisms.
