A handful of neurons in the fly brain were identified as a key component of how adverse experiences, in this case the perception of dead conspecifics, modulate aging. Credit: Christi Gendron
Key points:
- Researchers have found the link between death perception and reduced aging in flies.
- A series of experiments in fruit flies showed that a specific group of neurons is responsible.
- Increased activity in R2 and R4 leads to more rapid aging in flies.
Researchers at the University of Michigan previously reported that when fruit flies see other dead fruit flies, they experience advanced aging. They call it “death perception,” and now, a follow up study has linked the effect to a specific group of brain cells.
In a series of experiments, fluorescent tagging showed that exposure to dead flies leads to increased activity in a region of the fly brain called the ellipsoid body—specifically R2 and R4 neurons. Silencing different ring neurons in this region revealed that R2 and R4 are necessary for the effect, and other tests showed that the key is the serotonin receptor 5-HT2A located on these neurons. The study, published in PLOS Biology, shows that increased activity in R2 and R4 leads to more rapid aging.
The research team also showed that when these neurons were artificially activated, fruit fly lifespans decreased, even when flies did not actually experience any death perception.
Understanding how neural circuits like this regulate aging could eventually lead to targeted drug therapies in humans that slow the aging process.
“We identified specific neurons and evolutionarily conserved molecules in the fly brain that help tune rates of aging in response to environmental conditions and experiences,” said study author Scott Pletcher.