Article,
Unraveling the auditory system of Drosophila
Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 20 (3): 281--287 (June 2010)
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2010.02.016
Abstract
Acoustic communication in flies is based on the production
and perception of courtship song. Drosophila males sing to
females during the courtship ritual, while females listen for
the correct species-specific song parameters before deciding
to mate. While we know that song is important for mating, the
neural mechanisms involved in song recognition remain
mysterious. However, the last few years have seen major
advances in our understanding of the auditory system of
Drosophila, including delineation of the neurons involved in
song production, detailed characterization of the auditory
receptor organ, and mapping of auditory projections into the
brain. The stage is being set to tackle the auditory system of
Drosophila in much the same way as has been done for its
olfactory system. This review covers recent work and discusses
prospects for future research on Drosophila audition.
