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Section Symposium
Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology
Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity
Catherine Schretter
Postdoctoral Associate
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
Hui Chiu
California Institute of Technology, California
Alice Robie
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
Kristin Branson
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
Tanvi Vippa
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
Samantha Epstein
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
David Anderson
California Institute of Technology, California
Gerry Rubin
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc
Ashburn, Virginia
Whether deciding to pursue a mate or attack a competitor, social interactions are critical for survival. Aggressive behaviors are governed by social decision-making that must continuously assess the risk of injury and potential reward to guide approach, engagement, continuation, and disengagement. However, little is known about the neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying these complex aspects of aggression.
The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, constitutes a powerful model for the mechanistic dissection of such aspects of aggression due to its genetic accessibility, complete brain-wide connectome, and behaviors. Recently, we uncovered a cell type underlying persistent female aggression (Schretter et al., 2020; Chiu,...,Schretter, 2023). Through mapping this complete female aggression circuit, we found these neurons exert a large part of their behavioral effects through gating visual processing. Interestingly, male courtship pursuit uses many of the same circuit motifs suggesting common mechanisms for continuing social behaviors. As persistent aggression risks injury or death, mechanisms for conversely shutting down or disengaging are equally critical for survival. Further circuit and quantitative behavioral analysis uncovered a novel neuronal subset downregulating aggression in females and males. Identification of these shared mechanisms across sexes reveals general principles for circuits controlling social behaviors and lays the foundation for a mechanistic understanding of social decision-making.