Scientists identify the 'hangry neuron' in fruit flies that turns hunger into aggression
mjdramstead · x · 2026-10-13
A new Nature Communications study identifies a 'hangry neuron' in the Drosophila mushroom body that converts hunger states into graded, nutrient-specific aggression. Dopaminergic inputs bidirectionally tune the neuron's excitability via Dop1R1 and Dop1R2 receptors, which activate intracellular cAMP and calcium pathways respectively. The work reveals an unexpected aggression-modulating role for the mushroom body—traditionally seen as the fly's learning and memory center—and shows how a single neuron integrates distinct dopamine pathways to mediate flexible behavior, a function typically handled by the basal ganglia in mammals.
More from Research
- Automated research still needs a million research-years, but simulation advantages are real, researcher argues — gleech · 2026-10-13
- SonicBoom: A Python-Free C++ Runtime Beats llama.cpp Decode by 14% on a Laptop 3050 — nalaginrut · 2026-10-13
- NeurIPS paper: video diffusion models encode physics internally even when outputs are wrong — katjahofmann · 2026-10-13
- Parallel sampling beats sequential self-refinement for scaling LLM accuracy, paper finds — burkov · 2026-10-13
- CrossTimeEdit: Decade-Spanning Dataset and Reward-Guided Historical Street-View Generation — SunYatsen · 2026-10-13
- W.P. Thurston's classic essay 'On Proof and Progress in Mathematics' (PDF) — FrnkNlsn · 2026-10-13