Characterizing Choice Behavior in Drosophila Olfactory Classical ConditioningdissertationsStea, Samuel GiovannicreatorKaun, KarlaAdvisorAizenman, CarlosReaderO'Connor-Giles, KateReaderBrown University. Biology and Medicine: Biotechnologysponsor2026viii, 51 p.born digitalThesis (Sc. M.)--Brown University, 2026thesesDrosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. However, memory is usually studied by assessing choice behavior at only one point in time in Drosophila, which limits our understanding of how flies respond to a learned cue. We developed a simple open-field style assay that records the continuous behavioral dynamics of flies as they form preferences between two competing olfactory stimuli. We trained flies to associate odors with either a reward (sucrose) or punishment (electric shock) and found that within 30 seconds, flies learned to approach the sugar-associated odor and avoid the shock-associated odor. Their collective behavior dynamics suggest the flies became more decisive over time; they traveled more on the preferred side, stayed closer to the source of the preferred cue, made more stops there, and consistently turned away from alternative cue. We confirmed these results by showing that a learning-deficient mutant strain displayed no choice behavior. This assay provides enhanced resolution for understanding decision-making as a continuous, dynamic process in Drosophila.Drosophila--BehaviorEnglishRPB20260516