title: Neural correlates of water reward in thirsty Drosophila.
abstract: Drinking water is innately rewarding to thirsty animals. In addition, the consumed value can be assigned to behavioral actions and predictive sensory cues by associative learning. Here we show that thirst converts water avoidance into water-seeking in naive Drosophila melanogaster. Thirst also permitted flies to learn olfactory cues paired with water reward. Water learning required water taste and <40 water-responsive dopaminergic neurons that innervate a restricted zone of the mushroom body γ lobe. These water learning neurons are different from those that are critical for conveying the reinforcing effects of sugar. Naive water-seeking behavior in thirsty flies did not require water taste but relied on another subset of water-responsive dopaminergic neurons that target the mushroom body β' lobe. Furthermore, these naive water-approach neurons were not required for learned water-seeking. Our results therefore demonstrate that naive water-seeking, learned water-seeking and water learning use separable neural circuitry in the brain of thirsty flies.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Suewei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Owald
authors.affiliation: 1] Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. [2] Balliol College, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Clifford
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Wolf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huetteroth
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waddell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012201:Reward; D013894:Thirst / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014867:Water