Dopamine biases decisions by limiting temporal integration

Aditya K. Gautham, Lauren E. Miner, Marco N. Franco, Stephen C. Thornquist () and Michael A. Crickmore ()
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Aditya K. Gautham: Harvard Medical School
Lauren E. Miner: Harvard Medical School
Marco N. Franco: Harvard Medical School
Stephen C. Thornquist: Harvard Medical School
Michael A. Crickmore: Harvard Medical School

Nature, 2024, vol. 632, issue 8026, 850-857

Abstract: Abstract Motivations bias our responses to stimuli, producing behavioural outcomes that match our needs and goals. Here we describe a mechanism behind this phenomenon: adjusting the time over which stimulus-derived information is permitted to accumulate towards a decision. As a Drosophila copulation progresses, the male becomes less likely to continue mating through challenges1–3. We show that a set of copulation decision neurons (CDNs) flexibly integrates information about competing drives to mediate this decision. Early in mating, dopamine signalling restricts CDN integration time by potentiating Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activation in response to stimulatory inputs, imposing a high threshold for changing behaviours. Later into mating, the timescale over which the CDNs integrate termination-promoting information expands, increasing the likelihood of switching behaviours. We suggest scalable windows of temporal integration at dedicated circuit nodes as a key but underappreciated variable in state-based decision-making.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07749-7

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