TY - JOUR
T1 - FoxP influences the speed and accuracy of a perceptual decision in Drosophila
AU - DasGupta, Shamik
AU - Ferreira, Clara Howcroft
AU - Miesenboc̈k, Gero
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Decisions take time if information gradually accumulates to a response threshold, but the neural mechanisms of integration and thresholding are unknown. We characterized a decision process in Drosophila that bears the behavioral signature of evidence accumulation. As stimulus contrast in trained odor discriminations decreased, reaction times increased and perceptual accuracy declined, in quantitative agreement with a drift-diffusion model. FoxP mutants took longer than wild-type flies to form decisions of similar or reduced accuracy, especially in difficult, low-contrast tasks. RNA interference with FoxP expression in αβ core Kenyon cells, or the overexpression of a potassium conductance in these neurons, recapitulated the FoxP mutant phenotype. A mushroom body subdomain whose development or function require the transcription factor FoxP thus supports the progression of a decision toward commitment.
AB - Decisions take time if information gradually accumulates to a response threshold, but the neural mechanisms of integration and thresholding are unknown. We characterized a decision process in Drosophila that bears the behavioral signature of evidence accumulation. As stimulus contrast in trained odor discriminations decreased, reaction times increased and perceptual accuracy declined, in quantitative agreement with a drift-diffusion model. FoxP mutants took longer than wild-type flies to form decisions of similar or reduced accuracy, especially in difficult, low-contrast tasks. RNA interference with FoxP expression in αβ core Kenyon cells, or the overexpression of a potassium conductance in these neurons, recapitulated the FoxP mutant phenotype. A mushroom body subdomain whose development or function require the transcription factor FoxP thus supports the progression of a decision toward commitment.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84901236337&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1252114
DO - 10.1126/science.1252114
M3 - Article
C2 - 24855268
AN - SCOPUS:84901236337
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 344
SP - 901
EP - 904
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6186
ER -