Asymmetric neurons are necessary for olfactory learning in the Drosophila brain
Journal
Current Biology
Journal Volume
34
Journal Issue
5
Start Page
946
End Page
9.57E+06
ISSN
9609822
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Abstract
Animals have complementary parallel memory systems that process signals from various sensory modalities. In the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, mushroom body (MB) circuitry is the primary associative neuropil, critical for all stages of olfactory memory. Here, our findings suggest that active signaling from specific asymmetric body (AB) neurons is also crucial for this process. These AB neurons respond to odors and electric shock separately and exhibit timing-sensitive neuronal activity in response to paired stimulation while leaving a decreased memory trace during retrieval. Our experiments also show that rutabaga-encoded adenylate cyclase, which mediates coincidence detection, is required for learning and short-term memory in both AB and MB. We observed additive effects when manipulating rutabaga co-expression in both structures. Together, these results implicate the AB in playing a critical role in associative olfactory learning and short-term memory. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.
Subjects
asymmetric body
CS+ avoidance
CS??attraction
depression memory trace
parallel processing
STM acquisition
Publisher
Cell Press
Type
journal article