title: Behavioral responses to light by headless anesthetized Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: The bodies of decapitated fruit flies are known to retain a variety of functional sensory inputs, processing, and behavioral responses. Here I report a previously undescribed phenomenon: headless bodies can respond to a light presentation with movement, walking, and flight. Headless anesthetized flies also respond to a light presentation with behavior, albeit to a lesser degree. The mechanism underlying the behavioral response of headless flies to light might include extracephalic photoreceptors or thermoreceptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA 19146, USA. marc.egeth@gmail.com
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egeth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049248:Decapitation; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D008027:Light; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation