Feeding-state dependent modulation of reciprocally interconnected inhibitory neurons biases sensorimotor decisions inDrosophila

Abstract

AbstractThe feeding state of an animal changes behavioral priorities and thus influences even non-feeding related decisions. How is the influence of the feeding state transmitted to non-feeding related circuits and what are the circuit mechanisms involved in biasing non-feeding related decisions remains an open question. By combining calcium imaging, neuronal manipulations, behavioral analysis and computational modeling we determined that the competitive interactions between different behavioral responses to a mechanical stimulus are biased by the feeding state and found that this is achieved by differentially modulating two different types of reciprocally connected inhibitory neurons promoting opposing actions. The modulation of these inhibitory neurons influences the activity in the output layer of the network towards encoding more frequently an active type of response and less frequently a protective type of response in larvae fed on sugar compared to those fed on a balanced diet. The information about the internal state is conveyed to the inhibitory neurons through homologues of the vertebrate neuropeptide Y known to be involved in regulating feeding behavior.