Plasticity of Social Behavior in Drosophila

This article presents results obtained from studies of the plasticity of changes in social behavior in Drosophila (interactions between individuals in groups) in conditions of homo- and heterogeneous environments. This is the first report of data illustrating self-starting acquisition by female Drosophila of a classical conditioned reflex to contextual factors signaling possible threats from other individuals and blocking the initiation of activity. A previously described operant conditioned reflex also helped flies avoid aggression from other individuals and make more efficient use of food resources by decreasing the initially high level of activity. Classical conditioning had the effect that the fly did not need to repeat acquisition of the conditioned reflex each time: when placed into an analogous situation, the fly's activity automatically decreased as a result of exposure to the conditioned stimulus, i.e., contextual factors.