美国洛克菲勒大学Vanessa Ruta研究组发现果蝇求爱期间的性唤醒通过调节视觉信号，来塑造求爱行为。相关论文于2021年7月7日发表在《自然》杂志上。
通过记录雄性向虚拟的“雌性”求爱过程，他们深入了解了视觉因素的显著性如何被雄性的内部唤醒状态转化为持续的求爱行为。LC10a 视觉投射神经元的增益在求偶期间有选择地增加，增强了它们对移动目标的敏感性。一个简洁的网络模型表明，通过 LC10a回路的视觉信号，一旦被 P1 介导的唤醒放大，几乎完全确定了雄性对雌性的跟随。此外，P1 神经元活动与雄性追求持续调节 LC10a 通路增益强度的持续波动相关。总之，这些结果揭示了雄性的内部状态如何通过高保真视觉运动回路动态调节视觉信号的传播，以指导他的即时求爱表现。
据了解，持久的内部唤醒状态会激发和塑造正在进行的行为，从而使满足动物需求的先天行为程序（例如战斗、喂食和交配）暂时出现。然而，内部状态如何塑造感官处理或行为仍不清楚。在果蝇中，雄性果蝇会执行一个冗长而复杂的求爱仪式，该仪式由性别二态性 P1 神经元激活触发，在此期间，它们忠实地跟随并唱歌给雌性。
附：英文原文
Title: Sexual arousal gates visual processing during Drosophila courtship
Author: Tom Hindmarsh Sten, Rufei Li, Adriane Otopalik, Vanessa Ruta
Issue&Volume: 2021-07-07
Abstract: Long-lasting internal arousal states motivate and pattern ongoing behaviour, enabling the temporary emergence of innate behavioural programs that serve the needs of an animal, such as fighting, feeding, and mating. However, how internal states shape sensory processing or behaviour remains unclear. In Drosophila, male flies perform a lengthy and elaborate courtship ritual that is triggered by the activation of sexually dimorphic P1 neurons1,2,3,4,5, during which they faithfully follow and sing to a female6,7. Here, by recording from males as they court a virtual ‘female’, we gain insight into how the salience of visual cues is transformed by a male’s internal arousal state to give rise to persistent courtship pursuit. The gain of LC10a visual projection neurons is selectively increased during courtship, enhancing their sensitivity to moving targets. A concise network model indicates that visual signalling through the LC10a circuit, once amplified by P1-mediated arousal, almost fully specifies a male’s tracking of a female. Furthermore, P1 neuron activity correlates with ongoing fluctuations in the intensity of a male’s pursuit to continuously tune the gain of the LC10a pathway. Together, these results reveal how a male’s internal state can dynamically modulate the propagation of visual signals through a high-fidelity visuomotor circuit to guide his moment-to-moment performance of courtship.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03714-w
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03714-w
Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
投稿链接：http://www.nature.com/authors/submit_manuscript.html
本期文章：《自然》：Online/在线发表
