Male-specific P1 Neurons Regulate Sleep,Courtship And Feeding Behaviors In Drosophila Melanogaster

Animals choose between sleep,courtship and feeding behaviors based on integration of both external sensory cues and internal states,which is beneficial for their survival and reproduction.These competing behaviors are closely related and controlled by distinct neural circuits,but whether they are also regulated by shared neural nodes is unclear.Here we studied how a set of male-specific P1 neurons controls sleep,courtship and feeding behaviors in Drosophila males.We found that mild activation of P1 neurons is sufficient to affect sleep,but not courtship or feeding,while higher activation of P1 neurons labeled by four out of five independent drivers induces courtship,but only the one that targets the highest number of P1 neurons affects feeding.These results reveal a common neural node that affects sleep,courtship and feeding,but in a threshold-dependent manner,and provide insights into how competing behaviors could be regulated by shared neural nodes.