Story perspectives

Dopamine Required for Long-Term Courtship Suppression in Flies

6/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

A 60-minute confinement of male Drosophila melanogaster reduced courtship index, suppression lasted one hour, recovered by two hours, while 7- or 24-hour confinement caused suppression persisting at least five days.
Flies given dopamine inhibitor 3-iodo-L-tyrosine, RNA-interference knockdown, or dopamine-neuron blockade failed to maintain suppression after stress, showing dopamine sustains the behavior.
Removing dopamine receptors Dop1R1, Dop1R2, or Dop2R, reducing them in mushroom-body cells, or silencing PAM/PPL1 neuron clusters eliminated the suppression.

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Story summary

A 60-minute confinement of male Drosophila melanogaster reduced courtship index, suppression lasted one hour, recovered by two hours, while 7- or 24-hour confinement caused suppression persisting at least five days.
Flies given dopamine inhibitor 3-iodo-L-tyrosine, RNA-interference knockdown, or dopamine-neuron blockade failed to maintain suppression after stress, showing dopamine sustains the behavior.
Removing dopamine receptors Dop1R1, Dop1R2, or Dop2R, reducing them in mushroom-body cells, or silencing PAM/PPL1 neuron clusters eliminated the suppression.