Functional dissection of the neural substrates for gravitaxic maze behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

In animals, sensing gravity is supported by mechanosensory neurons that send information to the central brain for integration along with other modalities. In Drosophila, candidate sensory organs for detecting the gravity vector were predicted from the results of a recent forward genetic screen. This analysis also suggested possible roles for the central complex and antennal system in Drosophila.