Don't Swat That Fly! It May Have Just Decided to Fly The Wrong Way

I would like to conclude my blog with a cool article I discovered about an unusual test subject. So although most if not all of my articles have been about the cute and furries of the animal kingdom, I would like to present to you another test subject that has changed the way scientists look at animal cognition. It is the the fruit fly, Drosophilia  melanogaster. This small and not so cute test subject has actually shown similar decision-making skills to that of humans! Researcher Dr. Gero Miesenböck, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford has discovered that the average fruit fly takes longer amounts of time to make more difficult decisions just like humans do. When humans come upon a perceptual decision that is harder, they need more time for the brain to process all of the information, and fruit flies apparently do the same. To test this, Oxford researchers placed the fruit flies in bifurcated chambers filled on both sides with an odor they had been taught to avoid. When the odor was stronger on one side the flies easily chose the chamber with the weaker odor to inhabit. However when the odors were equally subtle the flies took longer to make a decision, and were more prone to make the wrong choice. This surprised scientists because they originally thought that the flies would act impulsively. This study has shown that because the process in fruit flies so closely mimics decision making in people the same mathematical models used to describe the actions of deliberating people can be used to predict a fly’s behavior. The common link between fly and human mental activity appears to be FOXP. FOXP is a gene that is closely associated with cognitive development and language in humans. A defective copy of this gene is linked to slower decision making skills, low intelligence, and language problems in humans. The question is however, is this gene related to gathering information through other senses like touch or eyesight? Or is it specific to this particular perceptual problem (olfactory decision-making problems)? More research is needed to answer these problems and scientists are eager to continue it. If flies are able to make decisions like us, what other species may be capable of similar cognitive processes to humans? It certainly makes you rethink about swatting that annoying buzzing fly in your home!





References 

DasGupta, S, Ferreira, C, & Miesenböck, G 2014, 'FoxP influences the speed and accuaracy of a
perceptual decision in Drosophila', Science, vol. 344, pp. 901-904.