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Research Interests:

The primary goal of the Schretter lab is to elucidate the neuronal and molecular mechanisms that regulate social interactions.

Social interactions, including fights for food, mates, and territories, are pervasive across species. Maladaptive aggressive displays are not only costly for ecosystems but have also been linked with human neurological disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease. To limit the risks associated with aggression, animals must tightly regulate when and how they fight based on the current environment and internal factors. Yet, much remains unknown about how these external and internal factors are integrated in the brain, as well as how these mechanisms vary across individuals and sexes. 

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a highly tractable model for both cell type-specific and brain-wide dissections of these mechanisms due to recent advances in genetic tools, wiring diagrams of the brain (connectomes), and machine learning tools for behavioral analysis. The lab will utilize the genetic, physiological, connectomic, and machine learning tools pioneered in Dr. Schretter’s postdoctoral work for investigating a neuronal circuit underlying an understudied social behavior – female aggression – in cellular detail. This work will allow us to develop models for how the brain flexibly regulates social behavior in response to changing environments and goals. We will also pursue questions with broader implications for aging and neuropsychiatric disorders.