Olfactory memory trace formation in Drosophila

这项研究项目的长期目标是阐明细胞记忆痕迹的本质，即 它们形成的机制，它们的持续时间，以及它们在 果蝇的嗅觉神经系统。特定脑区神经活动的光学成像研究进展 苍蝇大脑的神经元首次实现了嗅觉记忆痕迹的可视化。 提出了扩大这些观测结果的实验方案。气味的完整表现方式 触角叶中的神经活动将随着这一表示的变化而被阐明。 有条件反射。这些表示或记忆痕迹变化背后的机制将是 利用突变体和功能失活转基因的表达进行了探索。天真和条件反射 气味反应发生在嗅觉神经系统的其他神经元中，包括DPM和 将使用同样的光学成像技术来研究蘑菇体神经元。建议数 实验将检测这些记忆痕迹，并提供关于其持久性和它们的 对条件性气味的特异性。DPM和蘑菇体形成的机制 还将使用突变体和功能失活的转基因来探测神经元记忆痕迹。这个 假设多巴胺能神经元将无条件刺激传递给蘑菇体神经元将是 通过检测多巴胺能对非条件性和条件性刺激的反应进行测试。最后，比较 将在嗅觉神经系统中形成的细胞记忆痕迹之间使用厌恶 非条件刺激和有相同气味的食欲非条件刺激。这些 实验将显著增加我们对记忆如何形成以及事件如何形成的理解 潜在地扰乱了正常的记忆形成。这将有助于我们了解影响 记忆的形成。

The long-term goals of this research project are to elucidate the nature of cellular memory traces, the mechanisms underlying their formation, their duration, and the neurons in which they form within the Drosophila olfactory nervous system. Recent advances in optical imaging of neural activity in specific neurons of the fly's brain have allowed for the visualization of an olfactory memory trace for the first time. Experiments that will extend these observations are proposed. The complete representation of odors by neural activity in the antennal lobe will be elucidated along with the changes in this representation that occur with conditioning. The mechanisms underlying these changes in representation, or memory traces, will be probed using mutants and the expression of functionally inactivating transgenes. The naive and conditioned odorant responses that occur within other neurons of the olfactory nervous system, including the DPM and mushroom body neurons, will be studied using these same optical imaging techniques. The proposed experiments will detect these memory traces, and provide knowledge about their persistence and their specificity to conditioned odors. The mechanisms underlying the formation of DPM and mushroom body neuron memory traces will also be probed using mutants and functionally inactivating transgenes. The hypothesis that dopaminergic neurons convey the unconditioned stimulus to mushroom body neurons will be tested by examining dopaminergic responses to unconditioned and conditioned stimuli. Finally, comparisons will be made between the cellular memory traces that form in the olfactory nervous system using aversive unconditioned stimuli and appetitive unconditioned stimuli with the same odor conditioned stimulus. These experiments will significantly increase our understanding of how memories form and the events that can potentially perturb normal memory formation. This will aid in our understanding of the diseases that affect memory formation.