{"title":"Attractiveness versus stickiness: Behavioural preferences of Drosophila melanogaster with competing visual stimuli","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jinsphys.2024.104716","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In nature, animals often encounter various competing stimuli and must make choices among them. Although the behaviour under two identical stimuli has been extensively studied for fruit flies, <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>, how the appeal of one stimulus for the animals is influenced by the appeal of the other is not fully understood. In the present study, we systematically investigated this equation using a modified Buridan’s paradigm. We focused on the behaviour of fruit flies under asymmetric visual stimuli, i.e., two black stripes of different widths. We characterized two behaviour modes: (1) Attractiveness: moving toward a stripe in the inner area of the platform, and (2) Stickiness: staying around the edge near a stripe. Our results reveal that while Attractiveness of a stripe is primarily influenced by its own width and remains relatively independent of the opposite stripe, Stickiness is significantly affected by the width of the competing stripe. These findings suggest that the behavioural response of fruit flies to visual stimuli involves complex decision-making processes influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This study provides new insights into the cognitive and sensory mechanisms underlying visual preference behaviour in <em>Drosophila</em> and highlights the importance of considering multiple stimuli in behavioural assays.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16189,"journal":{"name":"Journal of insect physiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of insect physiology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191024001045","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENTOMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In nature, animals often encounter various competing stimuli and must make choices among them. Although the behaviour under two identical stimuli has been extensively studied for fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, how the appeal of one stimulus for the animals is influenced by the appeal of the other is not fully understood. In the present study, we systematically investigated this equation using a modified Buridan’s paradigm. We focused on the behaviour of fruit flies under asymmetric visual stimuli, i.e., two black stripes of different widths. We characterized two behaviour modes: (1) Attractiveness: moving toward a stripe in the inner area of the platform, and (2) Stickiness: staying around the edge near a stripe. Our results reveal that while Attractiveness of a stripe is primarily influenced by its own width and remains relatively independent of the opposite stripe, Stickiness is significantly affected by the width of the competing stripe. These findings suggest that the behavioural response of fruit flies to visual stimuli involves complex decision-making processes influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This study provides new insights into the cognitive and sensory mechanisms underlying visual preference behaviour in Drosophila and highlights the importance of considering multiple stimuli in behavioural assays.
期刊介绍:
All aspects of insect physiology are published in this journal which will also accept papers on the physiology of other arthropods, if the referees consider the work to be of general interest. The coverage includes endocrinology (in relation to moulting, reproduction and metabolism), pheromones, neurobiology (cellular, integrative and developmental), physiological pharmacology, nutrition (food selection, digestion and absorption), homeostasis, excretion, reproduction and behaviour. Papers covering functional genomics and molecular approaches to physiological problems will also be included. Communications on structure and applied entomology can be published if the subject matter has an explicit bearing on the physiology of arthropods. Review articles and novel method papers are also welcomed.