title: P1 interneurons promote a persistent internal state that enhances inter-male aggression in Drosophila.
abstract: How brains are hardwired to produce aggressive behavior, and how aggression circuits are related to those that mediate courtship, is not well understood. A large-scale screen for aggression-promoting neurons in Drosophila identified several independent hits that enhanced both inter-male aggression and courtship. Genetic intersections revealed that 8-10 P1 interneurons, previously thought to exclusively control male courtship, were sufficient to promote fighting. Optogenetic experiments indicated that P1 activation could promote aggression at a threshold below that required for wing extension. P1 activation in the absence of wing extension triggered persistent aggression via an internal state that could endure for minutes. High-frequency P1 activation promoted wing extension and suppressed aggression during photostimulation, whereas aggression resumed and wing extension was inhibited following photostimulation offset. Thus, P1 neuron activation promotes a latent, internal state that facilitates aggression and courtship, and controls the overt expression of these social behaviors in a threshold-dependent, inverse manner.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.|Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.
authors.forename: Eric D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Hoopfer
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.
authors.forename: Yonil
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.
authors.forename: Hidehiko K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Gerald M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D003380:Courtship; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D062308:Optogenetics
keywords: <i>d. melanogaster</i>; aggression; courtship; fruitless; internal state; neuroscience; persistence; social behavior