It was classically suggested that behaviour can cause emotions (1,2). For example, smiling can make us feel happier (3) and, in rodents, the induced patterns of cardiac activity and breathing that are indicative of fear can in turn evoke it (4,5). We investigate whether inducing backward movement, an element of natural avoidance behaviour in the fly Drosophila melanogaster, engages negative valence signals in these animals, and the neuronal mechanisms and adaptive significance of this effect. We in particular investigate whether backward movement engages central-brain dopaminergic punishment neurons to support aversive memories and counterbalance extinction learning. This has implications for an understanding of the long-standing “avoidance paradox”, the observation that learned avoidance adaptively persists even when avoidance is successful, and no punishment is received (6,7).