title: Neural circuitry coordinating male copulation.
abstract: Copulation is the goal of the courtship process, crucial to reproductive success and evolutionary fitness. Identifying the circuitry underlying copulation is a necessary step towards understanding universal principles of circuit operation, and how circuit elements are recruited into the production of ordered action sequences. Here, we identify key sex-specific neurons that mediate copulation inDrosophila, and define a sexually dimorphic motor circuit in the male abdominal ganglion that mediates the action sequence of initiating and terminating copulation. This sexually dimorphic circuit composed of three neuronal classes - motor neurons, interneurons and mechanosensory neurons - controls the mechanics of copulation. By correlating the connectivity, function and activity of these neurons we have determined the logic for how this circuitry is coordinated to generate this male-specific behavior, and sets the stage for a circuit-level dissection of active sensing and modulation of copulatory behavior.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hania J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Pavlou
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.|Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Megan C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nojima
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States.
authors.forename: Fengqiu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.|Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Brian E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States.
authors.forename: Benjamin H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen F
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0552-4140
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Goodwin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003307:Copulation; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009434:Neural Pathways; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: D. melanogaster; copulation; doublesex; neuroscience; sexual behavior; sexual-dimorphism