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Numerical discrimination in Drosophila melanogaster

Mercedes Bengochea, Jacobo D. Sitt, Thomas Preat, Veronique Izard, Laurent Cohen, View ORCID ProfileBassem A. Hassan
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.26.482107
Mercedes Bengochea
1Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Jacobo D. Sitt
1Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Thomas Preat
2Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France
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Veronique Izard
3Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, F-75006 Paris, France
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Laurent Cohen
1Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
4AP-HP, Hôpital de La Pitié Salpêtrière, Féderation de Neurologie, Paris, France
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  • For correspondence: laurent.cohen@icm-institute.org bassem.hassan@icm-institute.org
Bassem A. Hassan
1Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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  • ORCID record for Bassem A. Hassan
  • For correspondence: laurent.cohen@icm-institute.org bassem.hassan@icm-institute.org
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Abstract

Sensitivity to numbers is a crucial and evolutionarily conserved cognitive ability. The lack of experimental models amenable to systematic genetic and neural manipulation has precluded discovering circuits required for numerical cognition. Here, we demonstrate that in a two-choice task Drosophila fruit flies spontaneously prefer sets containing more objects. This preference is determined by the ratio between the two numerical quantities tested, a characteristic signature of numerical cognition across species. Individual flies maintained their numerical choice over consecutive days. Using a numerical visual conditioning paradigm, we found that flies are capable of associating sucrose with numerical quantities and can be trained to reverse their spontaneous preference for large quantities. Finally, we show that silencing LC11 neurons reduces the preference for more objects, thus identifying a neuronal substrate for numerical cognition in invertebrates. This discovery paves the way for the systematic analysis of the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying sensitivity to numerosity.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted March 01, 2022.
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Numerical discrimination in Drosophila melanogaster
Mercedes Bengochea, Jacobo D. Sitt, Thomas Preat, Veronique Izard, Laurent Cohen, Bassem A. Hassan
bioRxiv 2022.02.26.482107; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.26.482107
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Numerical discrimination in Drosophila melanogaster
Mercedes Bengochea, Jacobo D. Sitt, Thomas Preat, Veronique Izard, Laurent Cohen, Bassem A. Hassan
bioRxiv 2022.02.26.482107; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.26.482107

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