Event:

Whether deciding to pursue a mate or attack a competitor, social interactions are critical for survival. Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior, which is displayed across sexes. During aggressive interactions, animals must continuously evaluate risk of injury and potential reward to guide their approach, engagement, continuation, and disengagement. However, little is known about the neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying these complex aspects of aggression.

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, constitutes a powerful model for the mechanistic dissection of such aspects of aggression due to its genetic accessibility, complete brain-wide connectome, and behaviors. Recently, we uncovered a cell type underlying persistent female aggression. Through mapping this complete female aggression circuit, we found these neurons exert a large part of their behavioral effects through gating visual processing. Interestingly, male courtship uses some of the same circuit motifs suggesting common mechanisms for continuing social interactions. As persistent aggression risks injury or death, mechanisms for conversely shutting down or disengaging are equally critical for survival. Further circuit and quantitative behavioral analysis uncovered a novel neuronal subset downregulating aggression in females and males. Identification of these mechanisms reveals common principles for both sensorimotor integration and regulation of aggression across sexes.