Neuromodulatory Control of Memory Networks

动物可以了解到，新奇的感官暗示是奖赏还是惩罚的信号。为了优化它们定位食物来源和躲避危险的能力，动物必须能够迅速形成这种联系，并将由此产生的记忆存储不同的时间长度。众所周知，果蝇肾上腺素的同源物章鱼胺对于短期内处理有益的联系很重要。这个项目旨在了解几个释放章鱼胺的细胞如何影响多个细胞的行为，以形成并表达气味和有益的食物刺激之间的这种快速联系。这些结果揭示了一种新的机制，即生物电路如何使用神经调节器有效地处理和存储信息。

Animals can learn that novel sensory cues signal reward or punishment. To optimise their ability to locate food sources and escape danger, animals must be able to form this association quickly, and store the consequent memory for varying lengths of time. It is known that the Drosophila homologue for adrenaline, octopamine, is important for the short-term processing of rewarding associations. This project aims to understand how a few cells that release octopamine can influence the behaviour of multiple cells to form and express this quick association between an odour and a rewarding food stimulus. These results reveal a novel mechanism for how biological circuits efficiently process and store information using neuromodulators.