Abstract:

Incentive-driven behaviors, such as reproduction, motivate actions that influence sensory processing, decision-making, and memory. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the prioritization of competing behavioral choices, particularly in balancing risk and reward, remain incompletely understood. In Drosophila, mating and courtship significantly impact cognitive and sensory processing, modifying behaviors like memory retention and risk perception in response to reproductive cues. In females, mating experience enhances aversive long-term memory, a process mediated by the male-derived sex peptide. This peptide activates a specific pair of serotonergic neurons in the female brain, engaging the cAMP/PKA pathway and subsequently enhancing memory through downstream dopaminergic signaling. In males, courtship shifts sensory perception as dopamine reduces threat detection when mating opportunities arise. Initially, threat-sensitive visual neurons inhibit courtship via serotonergic pathways, helping males prioritize survival. As courtship progresses, dopaminergic signaling suppresses this inhibition, enabling males to focus on mating over self-preservation. Together, these findings reveal how mating-associated neuromodulation in Drosophila drives adaptive changes in memory and sensory processing, optimizing reproductive behaviors.