New paper from the lab that shows when flies are startled, the response to pause, which lasts only a few seconds, is mediated by a set of serotonergic neurons in the ventral nerve cord (VNC). Serotonergic release also serves as a constitutive break on walking speed and when this break is not functional, flies walk faster than normal, in a wide variety of situations. For example, when flies are hungry they walk faster than normal, but they walk even faster when the serotonergic break is not functional.
Read the paper here
And the Zuckerman Institute news article here.
And media coverage by WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina here and Cosmos Magazine here.
And also featured in NIH Director Francis Collins' blog.
And a very thoughtful summary by Lauren Nadler in the JEB.