# State-dependent modulation of taste and temperature integration in Drosophila

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2023 · $722,625

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: Animals constantly detect different environmental stimuli and change their behavior or
physiology based on their internal state. How animals integrate the external multiple sensory information with
the internal state is largely unclear.
 The specific goal of this proposal is to explore the neural circuits and mechanisms of internal state-
dependent modulation of multiple sensory integrations. We will draw on a powerful, versatile, and relatively
simple genetic model, Drosophila, to address the neural mechanisms of taste-temperature integration. We
recently identified a new cephalic phase response (CPR) caused by taste-temperature integration. CPR is
rapid and partial recovery from the starved state and is a robust and typical response for many animals,
including humans. When animals are hungry, the sensory detection of food elicits bursts of physiological
changes in their bodies; this rapid response is CPR. Our primary data suggest that taste-temperature
integration leads to CPR in flies.
 In this R34 application, we will explore how taste-temperature integration is regulated by using CPR as
output. We will examine neural mechanisms of taste-temperature integration by monitoring taste- and
temperature-processing neuronal activity using calcium imaging. Furthermore, hunger signals such as
Drosophila neuropeptide F, a homolog of mammalian neuropeptide Y, are critical for CPR, suggesting that
hunger signals modulate the taste-temperature neural circuits. These preliminary data lead to our central
hypothesis: hunger signals modulate the sensory integration between taste- and temperature-processing
neurons, which drives CPR. The following two specific aims are proposed: In Aim 1, we will explore the neural
mechanisms and circuits of taste-temperature integration. In Aim 2, we will explore the mechanisms by which
the internal state modulates taste-temperature integration.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10718009
- **Project number:** 1R34NS132843-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Fumika Hamada
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $722,625
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10718009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10718009, State-dependent modulation of taste and temperature integration in Drosophila (1R34NS132843-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10718009. Licensed CC0.

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