Mapping the stereotyped behaviour of freely moving fruit flies
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: A frequent assumption in behavioural science is that most of an animal's activities can be described in terms of a small set of stereotyped motifs. Here, we introduce a method for mapping an animal's actions, relying only upon the underlying structure of postural movement data to organize and classify behaviours. Applying this method to the ground-based behaviour of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, we find that flies perform stereotyped actions roughly 50% of the time, discovering over 100 distinguishable, stereotyped behavioural states. These include multiple modes of locomotion and grooming. We use the resulting measurements as the basis for identifying subtle sex-specific behavioural differences and revealing the low-dimensional nature of animal motions.
Institution: Princeton University
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: Predoctoral Training in Genetics and Molecular Biology, G2271306371, G4357913612, The Theoretical Physics of Biological Systems, G4816072901, Programs on Critical Problems in Physics, Astrophysics and Biophysics at the Aspen Center for Physics, A new paradigm for quantifying animal behavior in a model genetic system, G7039555113, Center for Quantitative Biology, G9000290534
OpenAlex ID: W2154723612