Tasting Brains

It’s tempting to think of the brain as a computer, taking inputs from the world, and responding with appropriate outputs – but does this work in practice? Here researchers explore circuits of neurons in a fruit fly (Drosophila) brain. Using a combination of genetic techniques, they light up and map out neurons. First, they trigger gustatory neurons that usually help the fly respond to a sugary taste (highlighted in green) revealing connections with sensorimotor neurons (pink then blue) that in turn connect to specific motor neurons (orange) involved in extending the fly’s proboscis, part of its mouth used for feeding. The team believe these networks may react more strongly when hungry and respond differently to various tastes. This may help the fly to react to sensory stimuli in a changing world, and maybe give insights into similar mechanisms behind our own senses.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Philip K Shiu and Gabriella R Sterne, and colleagues
• University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, July 2022