Biochemical evidence accumulates across neurons to drive a network-level eruption

Neural network computations are usually assumed to emerge from patterns of fast electrical activity. Challenging this view, we show that a male fly's decision to persist in mating hinges on a biochemical computation that enables processing over minutes to hours. Each neuron in a recurrent network contains slightly different internal molecular estimates of mating progress. Protein kinase A (PKA) activity contrasts this internal measurement with input from the other neurons to represent accumulated evidence that the goal of the network has been achieved. When consensus is reached, PKA pushes the network toward a large-scale and synchronized burst of calcium influx that we call an eruption. Eruptions transform continuous deliberation within the network into an all-or-nothing output, after which the male will no longer sacrifice his life to continue mating. Here, biochemical activity, invisible to most large-scale recording techniques, is the key computational currency directing behavior and motivational state.

Automated summary

Research has found that a male fly's decision to persist in mating is based on a biochemical computation rather than patterns of fast electrical activity. In this computation, each neuron in a recurrent network contains slightly different internal molecular estimates, which are contrasted with input from other neurons through Protein kinase A (PKA) activity to generate a synchronized burst of calcium influx called an eruption. This biochemical activity is the key currency directing behavior and motivational state, playing a role invisible to most large-scale recording techniques.