Quantitative food-intake assays with dyed food provide a robust and high-throughput means to evaluate feeding motivation. Combining the food consumption assay with thermogenetic and optogenetic screens is a powerful approach to investigate the neural circuits underlying appetite in adult Drosophila melanogaster.
Jiang, L., Zhan, Y., Zhu, Y. Combining Quantitative Food-intake Assays and Forcibly Activating Neurons to Study Appetite in Drosophila. J. Vis. Exp. (134), e56900, doi:10.3791/56900 (2018).