Mating: Male fruit flies only want one thing – and ignore the dangers

2024-08-31 05:28:29

During the mating season, the male fruit fly concentrates on the female – and loses sight of everything else. A neurotransmitter in the brain ensures that they repel predators. And in humanity? Something similar can be observed.

Intercourse or intercourse with women literally blinds the male offspring flying to the rest of the world: As an international research group wrote in the journal “Creation“Reportingly, images of networks in the insect’s brain show that they are no longer aware of threats – for example in the form of predators. A messenger device plays an important role.

A popular saying has long been known that love makes you blind. That proverb says that the person who loves, in heartache, does not see the fault of his partner – but the words can be literally applied to flies. At least that’s what the study suggests, which was led by the UK’s University of Birmingham and some researchers from the Free University of Berlin and Charité Universitätsmedizin.

The research team used a special microscopy technique to investigate which neurons in the brain of the fruit fly (Drosophila) are activated during the mating process. The scientists then created an artificial threat using light and shadow to simulate the effect of a predator flying nearby.

In the early stages of attention, such a threat activates certain visual neurons in the male fly’s brain, which interact with nerve cells controlled by the neurotransmitter serotonin. Because of this, the insects stopped the friendship of the women and ran away. “As mating progresses, the increase in dopamine inhibits key sensory pathways, reducing the fly’s ability to respond to threats and focusing on mating,” explains neuroscientist Laurie Cazale-Debat in a statement about the study.

In other words: In the advanced stages of courtship or during mating, male offspring ignore the dangers and no longer recognize such dangers under the influence of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The research team was able to show what happens in the fly brain when it weighs the benefits and risks of a decision – we humans are faced with such decisions every day, explains lead researcher Carolina Rezaval.

Dopamine protects against distraction

In such a situation, fruit flies will essentially decide what is most important: dating or fleeing the possible danger. “Dopamine is key to the decision-making process, but dopamine levels are closely related to the proximity of the goal,” explains Rezaval. Dopamine administration therefore affects perception based on goal proximity in order to prioritize between competing behaviors, the study said.

Lisa Scheunemann from the Free University of Berlin added: “It’s like you’re climbing a mountain, and you’re close to the mountain. If the weather changes and the situation is dangerous, you can ignore that danger because you are close to your destination.”

In fruit flies, too, the pursuit of the coveted prize leads to the neglect of a risk. The research shows that dopamine increases as love progresses and acts as a sensory filter that blocks distractions and helps the animal to concentrate on the task at hand as it approaches its goal, Rezaval said. Summary: “We are excited” to investigate whether this is a general decision-making process that also exists in animals, including humans. “

dpa/wb