{
  "abstract": "Hormones mediate inter-organ signaling which is crucial in orchestrating diverse behaviors and physiological processes including sleep and activity, feeding, growth, metabolism and reproduction. The pars intercerebralis and pars lateralis in insects represent major hubs which contain neurosecretory cells (NSC) that produce various peptide hormones. To obtain insight into how hormonal signaling is regulated, we have characterized the synaptic connectome of NSC in the adult Drosophila brain. Identification of neurons providing inputs to multiple NSC classes implicate diuretic hormone 44-expressing NSC as a major coordinator of physiology and behavior. Surprisingly, despite most NSC having dendrites in the subesophageal zone (primary taste processing center), inputs from peripheral gustatory neurons to NSC are largely indirect. We also deciphered pathways via which diverse olfactory inputs are relayed to NSC. Linear dynamical modeling of signal propagation through the connectome identifies enteric neurons as the strongest influencers of NSC activity compared to other sensory modalities. Further, our analyses revealed substantial inputs from brain descending neurons to NSC, suggesting that descending neurons regulate both endocrine and motor output to synchronize physiological changes with appropriate behaviors. In contrast to NSC inputs, synaptic output from NSC is sparse and mostly mediated by corazonin NSC. We show that both corazonin-expressing NSC and their downstream synaptic partner DNg27 influence egg-laying. We additionally explore putative paracrine interconnectivity between NSC classes and peptide hormone pathways from NSC to peripheral tissues by analyzing single-cell transcriptomic datasets. Our comprehensive characterization of the Drosophila neurosecretory network connectome provides a platform to understand complex hormonal networks and how they orchestrate animal behaviors and physiology.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, 89557, NV, USA",
    "Integrative Neuroscience Program, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, 89557, NV, USA",
    "University of Nevada Reno",
    "Department of Biology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium",
    "Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri Institute, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany",
    "University of Wuerzburg",
    "Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, 89557, NV, USA",
    "Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, 89557, NV, USA",
    "Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Theresa H. McKim",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8501-6487"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jayati Gera",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4744-1546"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ariana Julia B. Gayban",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-8766-9468"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Christie",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3730-3617"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Joel Shin",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-0735-5328"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nils Reinhard",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7989-7150"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Giulia Manoli",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5954-5919"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Selina Hilpert"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Patrick Callaerts",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4530-4561"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Floris van Breugel",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6538-7179"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte Helfrich‐Förster",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0859-9092"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        3,
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Meet Zandawala",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6498-2208"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k3shvfp1f820.bib",
  "cited_by": 16,
  "doi": "10.7554/elife.102684.3",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13657632/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "2k3shvfp1f820",
  "issns": [
    "2050-084X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13657632",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2804|Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4401984302",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13657632/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13657632",
  "pmid": "39257829",
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": "eLife Sciences Publications Ltd",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k3shvfp1f820.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13657632",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13657632"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:53Z",
      "native_id": "W4401984302",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.102684.3"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2804|Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Synaptic connectome of a neurosecretory network in the Drosophila brain",
  "title_text": "Synaptic connectome of a neurosecretory network in the Drosophila brain",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T13:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k3shvfp1f820",
  "venue": "ELife",
  "versions": []
}