Open AccessContext-dependent representations of movement in Drosophila dopaminergic reinforcement pathways
Author(s) -
Aryeh Zolin,
Raphael Cohn,
Rich Pang,
Andrew F. Siliciano,
Adrienne L. Fairhall,
Vanessa Ruta
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nature neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 13.403
H-Index - 422
eISSN - 1546-1726
pISSN - 1097-6256
DOI - 10.1038/s41593-021-00929-y
Subject(s) - dopaminergic , mushroom bodies , neuroscience , dopamine , dopaminergic pathways , context (archaeology) , reinforcement , psychology , reinforcement learning , odor , sensory cue , biology , drosophila melanogaster , computer science , artificial intelligence , paleontology , social psychology , biochemistry , gene
Dopamine plays a central role in motivating and modifying behavior, serving to invigorate current behavioral performance and guide future actions through learning. Here we examine how this single neuromodulator can contribute to such diverse forms of behavioral modulation. By recording from the dopaminergic reinforcement pathways of the Drosophila mushroom body during active odor navigation, we reveal how their ongoing motor-associated activity relates to goal-directed behavior. We found that dopaminergic neurons correlate with different behavioral variables depending on the specific navigational strategy of an animal, such that the activity of these neurons preferentially reflects the actions most relevant to odor pursuit. Furthermore, we show that these motor correlates are translated to ongoing dopamine release, and acutely perturbing dopaminergic signaling alters the strength of odor tracking. Context-dependent representations of movement and reinforcement cues are thus multiplexed within the mushroom body dopaminergic pathways, enabling them to coordinately influence both ongoing and future behavior.