Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Dopamine On The Behavioral Response To Isolation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Micah R. Evans

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Social behavior is exhibited based on a response to other individuals and involves the integration of external cues from surrounding organisms. A complete lack of interaction with others can profoundly affect social behavior in a variety of species. An example of the effect of social isolation can be seen in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) when observing the social behavior of social space, which is the preferred distance between neighbours. Isolated flies have increased social space and settle further apart from one another compared to flies that are group-housed.

What modulates this behavioral response to the social environment in fruit …