Long-lasting, experience-dependent alcohol preference in Drosophila.

To understand the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying alcohol addiction, many models ranging from vertebrates to invertebrates have been developed. In Drosophila melanogaster, behavioral paradigms from assaying acute responses to alcohol and to behaviors more closely modeling addiction have emerged in recent years. However, both the CAFÉ assay, similar to a two-bottle choice consumption assay, as well as conditioned odor preference, where ethanol is used as the reinforcer, are labor intensive and have low throughput. To address this limitation, we have established a novel ethanol consumption preference assay, called FRAPPÉ, which allows for fast, high throughput measurement of consumption in individual flies, using a fluorescence plate reader. We show that naïve flies do not prefer to consume ethanol, but various pre-exposures, such as ethanol vapor or voluntary ethanol consumption, induce ethanol preference. This ethanol-primed preference is long lasting and is not driven by calories contained in ethanol during the consumption choice. Our novel experience-dependent model of ethanol preference in Drosophila-a highly genetically tractable organism-therefore recapitulates salient features of human alcohol abuse and will facilitate the molecular understanding of the development of alcohol preference.

Age-related increases in long-range connectivity in fetal functional neural connectivity networks in utero.

Formation of operational neural networks is one of the most significant accomplishments of human fetal brain growth. Recent advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have made it possible to obtain information about brain function during fetal development. Specifically, resting-state fMRI and novel signal covariation approaches have opened up a new avenue for non-invasive assessment of neural functional connectivity (FC) before birth. Early studies in this area have unearthed new insights about principles of prenatal brain function. However, very little is known about the emergence and maturation of neural networks during fetal life. Here, we obtained cross-sectional rs-fMRI data from 39 fetuses between 24 and 38 weeks postconceptual age to examine patterns of connectivity across ten neural FC networks. We identified primitive forms of motor, visual, default mode, thalamic, and temporal networks in the human fetal brain. We discovered the first evidence of increased long-range, cerebral-cerebellar, cortical-subcortical, and intra-hemispheric FC with advancing fetal age. Continued aggregation of data about fundamental neural connectivity systems in utero is essential to establishing principles of connectomics at the beginning of human life. Normative data provides a vital context against which to compare instances of abnormal neurobiological development.