Mushroom body efferent neurons responsible for aversive olfactory memory retrieval in Drosophila

Reward from bugs to bipeds: a comparative approach to understanding how reward circuits function

In a complex environment, animals learn from their responses to stimuli and events. Appropriate response to reward and punishment can promote survival, reproduction and increase evolutionary fitness. Interestingly, the neural processes underlying these responses are remarkably similar across phyla. In all species, dopamine is central to encoding reward and directing motivated behaviors, however, a comprehensive understanding of how circuits encode reward and direct motivated behaviors is still lacking. In part, this is a result of the sheer diversity of neurons, the heterogeneity of their responses and the complexity of neural circuits within which they are found. We argue that general features of reward circuitry are common across model organisms, and thus principles learned from invertebrate model organisms can inform research across species. In particular, we discuss circuit motifs that appear to be functionally equivalent from flies to primates. We argue that a comparative approach to studying and understanding reward circuit function provides a more comprehensive understanding of reward circuitry, and informs disorders that affect the brain’s reward circuitry.

A Drosophila ex vivo model of olfactory appetitive learning

During olfactory appetitive learning, animals associate an odor, or conditioned stimulus (CS), with an unconditioned stimulus (US), often a sugar reward. This association induces feeding behavior, a conditioned response (CR), upon subsequent exposure to the CS. In this study, we developed a model of this behavior in isolated Drosophila brains. Artificial activation of neurons expressing the Gr5a sugar-responsive gustatory receptor (Gr5a GRNs) induces feeding behavior in starved flies. Consistent with this, we find that in dissected brains, activation of Gr5a GRNs induces Ca²⁺ transients in motor neurons, MN11 + 12, required for ingestion. Significantly, activation of Gr5a GRNs can substitute for presentation of sugar rewards during olfactory appetitive learning. Similarly, in dissected brains, coincident stimulation of Gr5a GRNs and the antennal lobe (AL), which processes olfactory information, results in increased Ca²⁺ influx into MN11 + 12 cells upon subsequent AL stimulation. Importantly, olfactory appetitive associations are not formed in satiated flies. Likewise, AL-evoked Ca²⁺ transients in MN11 + 12 are not produced in ex vivo brains from satiated flies. Our results suggest that a starved/satiated state is maintained in dissected brains, and that this ex vivo system will be useful for identification of neural networks involved in olfactory appetitive learning.

Neural correlates of side-specific odour memory in mushroom body output neurons

Humans and other mammals as well as honeybees learn a unilateral association between an olfactory stimulus presented to one side and a reward. In all of them, the learned association can be behaviourally retrieved via contralateral stimulation, suggesting inter-hemispheric communication. However, the underlying neuronal circuits are largely unknown and neural correlates of across-brain-side plasticity have yet not been demonstrated. We report neural plasticity that reflects lateral integration after side-specific odour reward conditioning. Mushroom body output neurons that did not respond initially to contralateral olfactory stimulation developed a unique and stable representation of the rewarded compound stimulus (side and odour) predicting its value during memory retention. The encoding of the reward-associated compound stimulus is delayed by about 40 ms compared with unrewarded neural activity, indicating an increased computation time for the read-out after lateral integration.

Long-term memory requires sequential protein synthesis in three subsets of mushroom body output neurons in Drosophila

Creating long-term memory (LTM) requires new protein synthesis to stabilize learning-induced synaptic changes in the brain. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, aversive olfactory learning forms several phases of labile memory to associate an odor with coincident punishment in the mushroom body (MB). It remains unclear how the brain consolidates early labile memory into LTM. Here, we survey 183 Gal4 lines containing almost all 21 distinct types of MB output neurons (MBONs) and show that sequential synthesis of learning-induced proteins occurs at three types of MBONs. Downregulation of oo18 RNA-binding proteins (ORBs) in any of these MBONs impaired LTM. And, neurotransmission outputs from these MBONs are all required during LTM retrieval. Together, these results suggest an LTM consolidation model in which transient neural activities of early labile memory in the MB are consolidated into stable LTM at a few postsynaptic MBONs through sequential ORB-regulated local protein synthesis.

A connectome of a learning and memory center in the adult Drosophila brain

Understanding memory formation, storage and retrieval requires knowledge of the underlying neuronal circuits. In Drosophila, the mushroom body (MB) is the major site of associative learning. We reconstructed the morphologies and synaptic connections of all 983 neurons within the three functional units, or compartments, that compose the adult MB’s α lobe, using a dataset of isotropic 8 nm voxels collected by focused ion-beam milling scanning electron microscopy. We found that Kenyon cells (KCs), whose sparse activity encodes sensory information, each make multiple en passant synapses to MB output neurons (MBONs) in each compartment. Some MBONs have inputs from all KCs, while others differentially sample sensory modalities. Only 6% of KC>MBON synapses receive a direct synapse from a dopaminergic neuron (DAN). We identified two unanticipated classes of synapses, KC>DAN and DAN>MBON. DAN activation produces a slow depolarization of the MBON in these DAN>MBON synapses and can weaken memory recall.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26975.001

Circuit Analysis of a Drosophila Dopamine Type 2 Receptor That Supports Anesthesia-Resistant Memory

Dopamine is central to reinforcement processing and exerts this function in species ranging from humans to fruit flies. It can do so via two different types of receptors (i.e., D1 or D2) that mediate either augmentation or abatement of cellular cAMP levels. Whereas D1 receptors are known to contribute to Drosophila aversive odor learning per se, we here show that D2 receptors are specific for support of a consolidated form of odor memory known as anesthesia-resistant memory. By means of genetic mosaicism, we localize this function to Kenyon cells, the mushroom body intrinsic neurons, as well as GABAergic APL neurons and local interneurons of the antennal lobes, suggesting that consolidated anesthesia-resistant memory requires widespread dopaminergic modulation within the olfactory circuit. Additionally, dopaminergic neurons themselves require D2R, suggesting a critical role in dopamine release via its recognized autoreceptor function. Considering the dual role of dopamine in balancing memory acquisition (proactive function of dopamine) and its "forgetting" (retroactive function of dopamine), our analysis suggests D2R as central player of either process.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Dopamine provides different information; while it mediates reinforcement during the learning act (proactive function), it balances memory performance between two antithetic processes thereafter (retroactive function) (i.e., forgetting and augmentation). Such bidirectional design can also be found at level of dopamine receptors, where augmenting D1 and abating D2 receptors are engaged to balance cellular cAMP levels. Here, we report that consolidated anesthesia-resistant memory (ARM), but not other concomitant memory phases, are sensitive to bidirectional dopaminergic signals. By means of genetic mosaicism, we identified widespread dopaminergic modulation within the olfactory circuit that suggests nonredundant and reiterating functions of D2R in support of ARM. Our results oppose ARM to its concomitant memory phases that localize to mushroom bodies and propose a decentralized organization of consolidated ARM.

Trace Conditioning in Drosophila Induces Associative Plasticity in Mushroom Body Kenyon Cells and Dopaminergic Neurons

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) signal punishment and reward during associative learning. In mammals, DANs show associative plasticity that correlates with the discrepancy between predicted and actual reinforcement (prediction error) during classical conditioning. Also in insects, such as Drosophila, DANs show associative plasticity that is, however, less understood. Here, we study associative plasticity in DANs and their synaptic partners, the Kenyon cells (KCs) in the mushroom bodies (MBs), while training Drosophila to associate an odorant with a temporally separated electric shock (trace conditioning). In most MB compartments DANs strengthened their responses to the conditioned odorant relative to untrained animals. This response plasticity preserved the initial degree of similarity between the odorant- and the shock-induced spatial response patterns, which decreased in untrained animals. Contrary to DANs, KCs (α'/β'-type) decreased their responses to the conditioned odorant relative to untrained animals. We found no evidence for prediction error coding by DANs during conditioning. Rather, our data supports the hypothesis that DAN plasticity encodes conditioning-induced changes in the odorant's predictive power.

Modulation of neuronal activity in the Drosophila mushroom body by DopEcR, a unique dual receptor for ecdysone and dopamine

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for steroid hormones mediate unconventional steroid signaling and play a significant role in the rapid actions of steroids in a variety of biological processes, including those in the nervous system. However, the effects of these GPCRs on overall neuronal activity remain largely elusive. Drosophila DopEcR is a GPCR that responds to both ecdysone (the major steroid hormone in insects) and dopamine, regulating multiple second messenger systems. Recent studies have revealed that DopEcR is preferentially expressed in the nervous system and involved in behavioral regulation. Here we utilized the bioluminescent Ca²⁺-indicator GFP-aequorin to monitor the nicotine-induced Ca²⁺-response within the mushroom bodies (MB), a higher-order brain center in flies, and examined how DopEcR modulates these Ca²⁺-dynamics. Our results show that in DopEcR knockdown flies, the nicotine-induced Ca²⁺-response in the MB was significantly enhanced selectively in the medial lobes. We then reveal that application of DopEcR's ligands, ecdysone and dopamine, had different effects on nicotine-induced Ca²⁺-responses in the MB: ecdysone enhanced activity in the calyx and cell body region in a DopEcR-dependent manner, whereas dopamine reduced activity in the medial lobes independently of DopEcR. Finally, we show that flies with reduced DopEcR function in the MB display decreased locomotor activity. This behavioral phenotype of DopEcR-deficient flies may be partly due to their enhanced MB activity, since the MB have been implicated in the suppression of locomotor activity. Overall, these data suggest that DopEcR is involved in region-specific modulation of Ca²⁺ dynamics within the MB, which may play a role in behavioral modulation.

Representations of Novelty and Familiarity in a Mushroom Body Compartment

Animals exhibit a behavioral response to novel sensory stimuli about which they have no prior knowledge. We have examined the neural and behavioral correlates of novelty and familiarity in the olfactory system of Drosophila. Novel odors elicit strong activity in output neurons (MBONs) of the α'3 compartment of the mushroom body that is rapidly suppressed upon repeated exposure to the same odor. This transition in neural activity upon familiarization requires odor-evoked activity in the dopaminergic neuron innervating this compartment. Moreover, exposure of a fly to novel odors evokes an alerting response that can also be elicited by optogenetic activation of α'3 MBONs. Silencing these MBONs eliminates the alerting behavior. These data suggest that the α'3 compartment plays a causal role in the behavioral response to novel and familiar stimuli as a consequence of dopamine-mediated plasticity at the Kenyon cell-MBONα'3 synapse.

Reciprocal synapses between mushroom body and dopamine neurons form a positive feedback loop required for learning

Current thought envisions dopamine neurons conveying the reinforcing effect of the unconditioned stimulus during associative learning to the axons of Drosophila mushroom body Kenyon cells for normal olfactory learning. Here, we show using functional GFP reconstitution experiments that Kenyon cells and dopamine neurons from axoaxonic reciprocal synapses. The dopamine neurons receive cholinergic input via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors from the Kenyon cells; knocking down these receptors impairs olfactory learning revealing the importance of these receptors at the synapse. Blocking the synaptic output of Kenyon cells during olfactory conditioning reduces presynaptic calcium transients in dopamine neurons, a finding consistent with reciprocal communication. Moreover, silencing Kenyon cells decreases the normal chronic activity of the dopamine neurons. Our results reveal a new and critical role for positive feedback onto dopamine neurons through reciprocal connections with Kenyon cells for normal olfactory learning.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23789.001

What can tiny mushrooms in fruit flies tell us about learning and memory?

Nervous systems have evolved to translate external stimuli into appropriate behavioral responses. In an ever-changing environment, flexible adjustment of behavioral choice by experience-dependent learning is essential for the animal's survival. Associative learning is a simple form of learning that is widely observed from worms to humans. To understand the whole process of learning, we need to know how sensory information is represented and transformed in the brain, how it is changed by experience, and how the changes are reflected on motor output. To tackle these questions, studying numerically simple invertebrate nervous systems has a great advantage. In this review, I will feature the Pavlovian olfactory learning in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The mushroom body is a key brain area for the olfactory learning in this organism. Recently, comprehensive anatomical information and the genetic tool sets were made available for the mushroom body circuit. This greatly accelerated the physiological understanding of the learning process. One of the key findings was dopamine-induced long-term synaptic plasticity that can alter the representations of stimulus valence. I will mostly focus on the new studies within these few years and discuss what we can possibly learn about the vertebrate systems from this model organism.

Re-evaluation of learned information in Drosophila

Animals constantly assess the reliability of learned information to optimize their behaviour. On retrieval, consolidated long-term memory can be neutralized by extinction if the learned prediction was inaccurate. Alternatively, retrieved memory can be maintained, following a period of reconsolidation during which it is labile. Although extinction and reconsolidation provide opportunities to alleviate problematic human memories, we lack a detailed mechanistic understanding of memory updating. Here we identify neural operations underpinning the re-evaluation of memory in Drosophila. Reactivation of reward-reinforced olfactory memory can lead to either extinction or reconsolidation, depending on prediction accuracy. Each process recruits activity in specific parts of the mushroom body output network and distinct subsets of reinforcing dopaminergic neurons. Memory extinction requires output neurons with dendrites in the α and α' lobes of the mushroom body, which drive negatively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons that innervate neighbouring zones. The aversive valence of these new extinction memories neutralizes previously learned odour preference. Memory reconsolidation requires the γ2α'1 mushroom body output neurons. This pathway recruits negatively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons innervating the same compartment and re-engages positively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons to reconsolidate the original reward memory. These data establish that recurrent and hierarchical connectivity between mushroom body output neurons and dopaminergic neurons enables memory re-evaluation driven by reward-prediction error.

The role of the Drosophila lateral horn in olfactory information processing and behavioral response

Animals must rapidly and accurately process environmental information to produce the correct behavioral responses. Reactions to previously encountered as well as to novel but biologically important stimuli are equally important, and one understudied region in the insect brain plays a role in processing both types of stimuli. The lateral horn is a higher order processing center that mainly processes olfactory information and is linked via olfactory projection neurons to another higher order learning center, the mushroom body. This review focuses on the lateral horn of Drosophila where most functional studies have been performed. We discuss connectivity between the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe, and the lateral horn and mushroom body. We also present evidence for the lateral horn playing roles in innate behavioral responses by encoding biological valence to novel odor cues and in learned responses to previously encountered odors by modulating neural activity within the mushroom body. We describe how these processes contribute to acceptance or avoidance of appropriate or inappropriate mates and food, as well as the identification of predators. The lateral horn is a sexually dimorphic and plastic region of the brain that modulates other regions of the brain to ensure that insects produce rapid and effective behavioral responses to both novel and learned stimuli, yet multiple gaps exist in our knowledge of this important center. We anticipate that future studies on olfactory processing, learning, and innate behavioral responses will include the lateral horn in their examinations, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of olfactory information relay and resulting behaviors.

Anatomical organization of the brain of a diurnal and a nocturnal dung beetle

To avoid the fierce competition for food, South African ball-rolling dung beetles carve a piece of dung off a dung-pile, shape it into a ball and roll it away along a straight line path. For this unidirectional exit from the busy dung pile, at night and day, the beetles use a wide repertoire of celestial compass cues. This robust and relatively easily measurable orientation behavior has made ball-rolling dung beetles an attractive model organism for the study of the neuroethology behind insect orientation and sensory ecology. Although there is already some knowledge emerging concerning how celestial cues are processed in the dung beetle brain, little is known about its general neural layout. Mapping the neuropils of the dung beetle brain is thus a prerequisite to understand the neuronal network that underlies celestial compass orientation. Here, we describe and compare the brains of a day-active and a night-active dung beetle species based on immunostainings against synapsin and serotonin. We also provide 3D reconstructions for all brain areas and many of the fiber bundles in the brain of the day-active dung beetle. Comparison of neuropil structures between the two dung beetle species revealed differences that reflect adaptations to different light conditions. Altogether, our results provide a reference framework for future studies on the neuroethology of insects in general and dung beetles in particular.

Suppression of a single pair of mushroom body output neurons in Drosophila triggers aversive associations

Memory includes the processes of acquisition, consolidation and retrieval. In the study of aversive olfactory memory in Drosophila melanogaster, flies are first exposed to an odor (conditioned stimulus, CS+) that is associated with an electric shock (unconditioned stimulus, US), then to another odor (CS−) without the US, before allowing the flies to choose to avoid one of the two odors. The center for memory formation is the mushroom body which consists of Kenyon cells (KCs), dopaminergic neurons (DANs) and mushroom body output neurons (MBONs). However, the roles of individual neurons are not fully understood. We focused on the role of a single pair of GABAergic neurons (MBON‐γ1pedc) and found that it could inhibit the effects of DANs, resulting in the suppression of aversive memory acquisition during the CS− odor presentation, but not during the CS+ odor presentation. We propose that MBON‐γ1pedc suppresses the DAN‐dependent effect that can convey the aversive US during the CS− odor presentation, and thereby prevents an insignificant stimulus from becoming an aversive US.

Suppression of Dopamine Neurons Mediates Reward

Massive activation of dopamine neurons is critical for natural reward and drug abuse. In contrast, the significance of their spontaneous activity remains elusive. In Drosophila melanogaster, depolarization of the protocerebral anterior medial (PAM) cluster dopamine neurons en masse signals reward to the mushroom body (MB) and drives appetitive memory. Focusing on the functional heterogeneity of PAM cluster neurons, we identified that a single class of PAM neurons, PAM-γ3, mediates sugar reward by suppressing their own activity. PAM-γ3 is selectively required for appetitive olfactory learning, while activation of these neurons in turn induces aversive memory. Ongoing activity of PAM-γ3 gets suppressed upon sugar ingestion. Strikingly, transient inactivation of basal PAM-γ3 activity can substitute for reward and induces appetitive memory. Furthermore, we identified the satiety-signaling neuropeptide Allatostatin A (AstA) as a key mediator that conveys inhibitory input onto PAM-γ3. Our results suggest the significance of basal dopamine release in reward signaling and reveal a circuit mechanism for negative regulation.

Dopamine neurons in the midbrain of mammals fire action potentials in response to rewarding stimuli, while punitive stimuli or omission of reward suppress their activity. Different signs in the activity of dopamine neurons thus can encode appetitive and aversive values; however, how these bidirectional activities directly relate to behavior has yet to be elucidated. In fruit flies Drosophila, en masse activation of dopaminergic neurons in the protocerebral anterior medial (PAM) cluster has been shown to signal reward. Here, we demonstrate that a specific sub-class of these dopaminergic neurons, called PAM-γ3, mediates both aversive and appetitive reinforcement through activation and suppression of their activity, respectively. Notably, transient inactivation of the basal activity of PAM-γ3 neurons substitutes for reward and induces appetitive memory formation. Interestingly, we found that Allatostatin A, a neuropeptide that signals satiety, conveys inhibitory input onto PAM-γ3 neurons. Our results highlight the bidirectional activity of defined dopaminergic neurons, which underlies encoding of behaviorally relevant appetitive and aversive values.

Transient suppression of a specific subset of dopamine neurons signals reward in the fruit fly Drosophila, suggesting that basal dopamine activity underlies behaviorally relevant valence coding.

Dopaminergic neurons write and update memories with cell-type-specific rules

Associative learning is thought to involve parallel and distributed mechanisms of memory formation and storage. In Drosophila, the mushroom body (MB) is the major site of associative odor memory formation. Previously we described the anatomy of the adult MB and defined 20 types of dopaminergic neurons (DANs) that each innervate distinct MB compartments (Aso et al., 2014a, 2014b). Here we compare the properties of memories formed by optogenetic activation of individual DAN cell types. We found extensive differences in training requirements for memory formation, decay dynamics, storage capacity and flexibility to learn new associations. Even a single DAN cell type can either write or reduce an aversive memory, or write an appetitive memory, depending on when it is activated relative to odor delivery. Our results show that different learning rules are executed in seemingly parallel memory systems, providing multiple distinct circuit-based strategies to predict future events from past experiences.

Mcm3 replicative helicase mutation impairs neuroblast proliferation and memory in Drosophila

In the developing Drosophila brain, a small number of neural progenitor cells (neuroblasts) generate in a co-ordinated manner a high variety of neuronal cells by integration of temporal, spatial and cell-intrinsic information. In this study, we performed the molecular and phenotypic characterization of a structural brain mutant called small mushroom bodies (smu), which was isolated in a screen for mutants with altered brain structure. Focusing on the mushroom body neuroblast lineages we show that failure of neuroblasts to generate the normal number of mushroom body neurons (Kenyon cells) is the major cause of the smu phenotype. In particular, the premature loss of mushroom body neuroblasts caused a pronounced effect on the number of late-born Kenyon cells. Neuroblasts showed no obvious defects in processes controlling asymmetric cell division, but generated less ganglion mother cells. Cloning of smu uncovered a single amino acid substitution in an evolutionarily conserved protein interaction domain of the Minichromosome maintenance 3 (Mcm3) protein. Mcm3 is part of the multimeric Cdc45/Mcm/GINS (CMG) complex, which functions as a helicase during DNA replication. We propose that at least in the case of mushroom body neuroblasts, timely replication is not only required for continuous proliferation but also for their survival. The absence of Kenyon cells in smu reduced learning and early phases of conditioned olfactory memory. Corresponding to the absence of late-born Kenyon cells projecting to α'/β' and α/β lobes, smu is profoundly defective in later phases of persistent memory.

Light, heat, action: neural control of fruit fly behaviour

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a popular model to investigate fundamental principles of neural circuit operation. The sophisticated genetics and small brain permit a cellular resolution understanding of innate and learned behavioural processes. Relatively recent genetic and technical advances provide the means to specifically and reproducibly manipulate the function of many fly neurons with temporal resolution. The same cellular precision can also be exploited to express genetically encoded reporters of neural activity and cell-signalling pathways. Combining these approaches in living behaving animals has great potential to generate a holistic view of behavioural control that transcends the usual molecular, cellular and systems boundaries. In this review, we discuss these approaches with particular emphasis on the pioneering studies and those involving learning and memory.

Aversive Learning and Appetitive Motivation Toggle Feed-Forward Inhibition in the Drosophila Mushroom Body

In Drosophila, negatively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons also provide the inhibitory control of satiety over appetitive memory expression. Here we show that aversive learning causes a persistent depression of the conditioned odor drive to two downstream feed-forward inhibitory GABAergic interneurons of the mushroom body, called MVP2, or mushroom body output neuron (MBON)-γ1pedc>α/β. However, MVP2 neuron output is only essential for expression of short-term aversive memory. Stimulating MVP2 neurons preferentially inhibits the odor-evoked activity of avoidance-directing MBONs and odor-driven avoidance behavior, whereas their inhibition enhances odor avoidance. In contrast, odor-evoked activity of MVP2 neurons is elevated in hungry flies, and their feed-forward inhibition is required for expression of appetitive memory at all times. Moreover, imposing MVP2 activity promotes inappropriate appetitive memory expression in food-satiated flies. Aversive learning and appetitive motivation therefore toggle alternate modes of a common feed-forward inhibitory MVP2 pathway to promote conditioned odor avoidance or approach.

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Aversive learning reduces odor-specific feed-forward inhibition in mushroom body

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Feed-forward inhibition selectively inhibits avoidance-directing neural pathways

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Appetitive motivation increases feed-forward inhibition in the mushroom body

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Imposing feed-forward inhibition favors appetitive memory expression

Cell-Type-Specific Transcriptome Analysis in the Drosophila Mushroom Body Reveals Memory-Related Changes in Gene Expression

Learning and memory formation in Drosophila rely on a network of neurons in the mushroom bodies (MBs). Whereas numerous studies have delineated roles for individual cell types within this network in aspects of learning or memory, whether or not these cells can also be distinguished by the genes they express remains unresolved. In addition, the changes in gene expression that accompany long-term memory formation within the MBs have not yet been studied by neuron type. Here, we address both issues by performing RNA sequencing on single cell types (harvested via patch pipets) within the MB. We discover that the expression of genes that encode cell surface receptors is sufficient to identify cell types and that a subset of these genes, required for sensory transduction in peripheral sensory neurons, is not only expressed within individual neurons of the MB in the central brain, but is also critical for memory formation.

Coordinated and Compartmentalized Neuromodulation Shapes Sensory Processing in Drosophila

Learned and adaptive behaviors rely on neural circuits that flexibly couple the same sensory input to alternative output pathways. Here, we show that the Drosophila mushroom body functions like a switchboard in which neuromodulation reroutes the same odor signal to different behavioral circuits, depending on the state and experience of the fly. Using functional synaptic imaging and electrophysiology, we reveal that dopaminergic inputs to the mushroom body modulate synaptic transmission with exquisite spatial specificity, allowing individual neurons to differentially convey olfactory signals to each of their postsynaptic targets. Moreover, we show that the dopaminergic neurons function as an interconnected network, encoding information about both an animal's external context and internal state to coordinate synaptic plasticity throughout the mushroom body. Our data suggest a general circuit mechanism for behavioral flexibility in which neuromodulatory networks act with synaptic precision to transform a single sensory input into different patterns of output activity. PAPERCLIP.

Heterosynaptic Plasticity Underlies Aversive Olfactory Learning in Drosophila

Although associative learning has been localized to specific brain areas in many animals, identifying the underlying synaptic processes in vivo has been difficult. Here, we provide the first demonstration of long-term synaptic plasticity at the output site of the Drosophila mushroom body. Pairing an odor with activation of specific dopamine neurons induces both learning and odor-specific synaptic depression. The plasticity induction strictly depends on the temporal order of the two stimuli, replicating the logical requirement for associative learning. Furthermore, we reveal that dopamine action is confined to and distinct across different anatomical compartments of the mushroom body lobes. Finally, we find that overlap between sparse representations of different odors defines both stimulus specificity of the plasticity and generalizability of associative memories across odors. Thus, the plasticity we find here not only manifests important features of associative learning but also provides general insights into how a sparse sensory code is read out.

Memory-Relevant Mushroom Body Output Synapses Are Cholinergic

Memories are stored in the fan-out fan-in neural architectures of the mammalian cerebellum and hippocampus and the insect mushroom bodies. However, whereas key plasticity occurs at glutamatergic synapses in mammals, the neurochemistry of the memory-storing mushroom body Kenyon cell output synapses is unknown. Here we demonstrate a role for acetylcholine (ACh) in Drosophila. Kenyon cells express the ACh-processing proteins ChAT and VAChT, and reducing their expression impairs learned olfactory-driven behavior. Local ACh application, or direct Kenyon cell activation, evokes activity in mushroom body output neurons (MBONs). MBON activation depends on VAChT expression in Kenyon cells and is blocked by ACh receptor antagonism. Furthermore, reducing nicotinic ACh receptor subunit expression in MBONs compromises odor-evoked activation and redirects odor-driven behavior. Lastly, peptidergic corelease enhances ACh-evoked responses in MBONs, suggesting an interaction between the fast- and slow-acting transmitters. Therefore, olfactory memories in Drosophila are likely stored as plasticity of cholinergic synapses.

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Mushroom body Kenyon cell function requires ChAT and VAChT expression

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Kenyon cell-released acetylcholine drives mushroom body output neurons

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Blocking nicotinic receptors impairs mushroom body output neuron activation

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Acetylcholine interacts with coreleased neuropeptide

Synapsin is required to "boost" memory strength for highly salient events

Synapsin is an evolutionarily conserved presynaptic phosphoprotein. It is encoded by only one gene in the Drosophila genome and is expressed throughout the nervous system. It regulates the balance between reserve and releasable vesicles, is required to maintain transmission upon heavy demand, and is essential for proper memory function at the behavioral level. Task-relevant sensorimotor functions, however, remain intact in the absence of Synapsin. Using an odor–sugar reward associative learning paradigm in larval Drosophila, we show that memory scores in mutants lacking Synapsin (syn⁹⁷) are lower than in wild-type animals only when more salient, higher concentrations of odor or of the sugar reward are used. Furthermore, we show that Synapsin is selectively required for larval short-term memory. Thus, without Synapsin Drosophila larvae can learn and remember, but Synapsin is required to form memories that match in strength to event salience—in particular to a high saliency of odors, of rewards, or the salient recency of an event. We further show that the residual memory scores upon a lack of Synapsin are not further decreased by an additional lack of the Sap47 protein. In combination with mass spectrometry data showing an up-regulated phosphorylation of Synapsin in the larval nervous system upon a lack of Sap47, this is suggestive of a functional interdependence of Synapsin and Sap47.

Reward signal in a recurrent circuit drives appetitive long-term memory formation

Dopamine signals reward in animal brains. A single presentation of a sugar reward to Drosophila activates distinct subsets of dopamine neurons that independently induce short- and long-term olfactory memories (STM and LTM, respectively). In this study, we show that a recurrent reward circuit underlies the formation and consolidation of LTM. This feedback circuit is composed of a single class of reward-signaling dopamine neurons (PAM-α1) projecting to a restricted region of the mushroom body (MB), and a specific MB output cell type, MBON-α1, whose dendrites arborize that same MB compartment. Both MBON-α1 and PAM-α1 neurons are required during the acquisition and consolidation of appetitive LTM. MBON-α1 additionally mediates the retrieval of LTM, which is dependent on the dopamine receptor signaling in the MB α/β neurons. Our results suggest that a reward signal transforms a nascent memory trace into a stable LTM using a feedback circuit at the cost of memory specificity.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10719.001

An animal that finds particularly nutritious and palatable food will often develop a long-lasting memory—even if they experience that event only once.

One example of this is the ability of the fruit fly Drosophila to form a long-term association between a sugar reward and a specific odor that was present when they received the reward. The consumption of sugar triggers the release of a chemical called dopamine on specific compartments of a brain structure called the mushroom body. Dopamine then acts to modify the connection between cells called “Kenyon cells”, which encode specific odors, and the neurons that send signals out from the mushroom body (called MBONs). The result is the formation of a memory that links the odor with the reward.

However, little is known about how this process differs for long-term vs. short-term memories, and how it can occur when the fly has experienced the odor and reward together on only a single occasion. To find out, Ichinose et al. combined behavioral testing of fruit flies with genetics. The results confirmed that the dopamine neurons and the MBONs that project to a single compartment of the mushroom body, called α1, are both required for the formation of long-term odor-reward memories, but not their short-term equivalents. These neurons are called PAM-α1 and MBON-α1, respectively.

Unexpectedly, anatomical data revealed that PAM-α1 dopamine neurons receive input from MBON-α1; that is, long-term memory formation involves a feedback circuit: from PAM-α1 to Kenyon cells, then to MBON-α1 and back to PAM-α1. Blocking feedback from the MBON-α1 onto the PAM-α1 neurons shortly after odor-reward training disrupted long-term memory formation. Conversely, blocking feedback at a later stage did not. This suggests that prolonged activation of PAM-α1 by MBON-α1 helps to strengthen newly established memories, converting them into memories that will last for a long time.

The discovery of a specific circuit that supports long-term, but not short-term, memory formation in fruit flies is consistent with evidence of distinct mechanisms underlying these processes in mammals. Further work is now required to determine whether feedback circuits similar to those in fruit flies also contribute to reward-based learning in other animals.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10719.002

Bidirectional Regulation of Amyloid Precursor Protein-Induced Memory Defects by Nebula/DSCR1: A Protein Upregulated in Alzheimer's Disease and Down Syndrome

Aging individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impaired memory. Memory problems in both DS and AD individuals usually develop slowly and progressively get worse with age, but the cause of this age-dependent memory impairment is not well understood. This study examines the functional interactions between Down syndrome critical region 1 (DSCR1) and amyloid-precursor protein (APP), proteins upregulated in both DS and AD, in regulating memory. Using Drosophila as a model, we find that overexpression of nebula (fly homolog of DSCR1) initially protects against APP-induced memory defects by correcting calcineurin and cAMP signaling pathways but accelerates the rate of memory loss and exacerbates mitochondrial dysfunction in older animals. We report that transient upregulation of Nebula/DSCR1 or acute pharmacological inhibition of calcineurin in aged flies protected against APP-induced memory loss. Our data suggest that calcineurin dyshomeostasis underlies age-dependent memory impairments and further imply that chronic Nebula/DSCR1 upregulation may contribute to age-dependent memory impairments in AD in DS.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Most Down syndrome (DS) individuals eventually develop Alzheimer's disease (AD)-like dementia, but mechanisms underlying this age-dependent memory impairment remain poorly understood. This study examines Nebula/Down syndrome critical region 1 (DSCR1) and amyloid-precursor protein (APP), proteins upregulated in both DS and AD, in regulating memory. We uncover a previously unidentified role for Nebula/DSCR1 in modulating APP-induced memory defects during aging. We show that upregulation of Nebula/DSCR1, an inhibitor of calcineurin, rescues APP-induced memory defects in young flies but enhances memory loss of older flies. Excitingly, transient Nebula/DSCR1 overexpression or calcineurin inhibition in aged flies ameliorates APP-mediated memory problems. These results suggest that chronic Nebula/DSCR1 upregulation may contribute to age-dependent memory loss in DS and AD and points to correcting calcineurin signaling as a means to improve memory during aging.

Olfactory learning skews mushroom body output pathways to steer behavioral choice in Drosophila

Learning permits animals to attach meaning and context to sensory stimuli. How this information is coded in neural networks in the brain, and appropriately retrieved and utilized to guide behavior, is poorly understood. In the fruit fly olfactory memories of particular value are represented within sparse populations of odor-activated Kenyon cells (KCs) in the mushroom body ensemble. During learning reinforcing dopaminergic neurons skew the mushroom body network by driving zonally restricted plasticity at synaptic junctions between the KCs and subsets of the overall small collection of mushroom body output neurons. Reactivation of this skewed KC-output neuron network retrieves memory of odor valence and guides appropriate approach or avoidance behavior.

Feed-Forward versus Feedback Inhibition in a Basic Olfactory Circuit

Inhibitory interneurons play critical roles in shaping the firing patterns of principal neurons in many brain systems. Despite difference in the anatomy or functions of neuronal circuits containing inhibition, two basic motifs repeatedly emerge: feed-forward and feedback. In the locust, it was proposed that a subset of lateral horn interneurons (LHNs), provide feed-forward inhibition onto Kenyon cells (KCs) to maintain their sparse firing—a property critical for olfactory learning and memory. But recently it was established that a single inhibitory cell, the giant GABAergic neuron (GGN), is the main and perhaps sole source of inhibition in the mushroom body, and that inhibition from this cell is mediated by a feedback (FB) loop including KCs and the GGN. To clarify basic differences in the effects of feedback vs. feed-forward inhibition in circuit dynamics we here use a model of the locust olfactory system. We found both inhibitory motifs were able to maintain sparse KCs responses and provide optimal odor discrimination. However, we further found that only FB inhibition could create a phase response consistent with data recorded in vivo. These findings describe general rules for feed-forward versus feedback inhibition and suggest GGN is potentially capable of providing the primary source of inhibition to the KCs. A better understanding of how inhibitory motifs impact post-synaptic neuronal activity could be used to reveal unknown inhibitory structures within biological networks.

Understanding how inhibitory neurons interact with excitatory neurons is critical for understanding the behaviors of neuronal networks. Here we address this question with simple but biologically relevant models based on the anatomy of the locust olfactory pathway. Two ubiquitous and basic inhibitory motifs were tested: feed-forward and feedback. Feed-forward inhibition typically occurs between different brain areas when excitatory neurons excite inhibitory cells, which then inhibit a group of postsynaptic excitatory neurons outside of the initializing excitatory neurons’ area. On the other hand, the feedback inhibitory motif requires a population of excitatory neurons to drive the inhibitory cells, which in turn inhibit the same population of excitatory cells. We found the type of the inhibitory motif determined the timing with which each group of cells fired action potentials in comparison to one another (relative timing). It also affected the range of inhibitory neurons’ activity, with the inhibitory neurons having a wider range in the feedback circuit than that in the feed-forward one. These results will allow predicting the type of the connectivity structure within unexplored biological circuits given only electrophysiological recordings.

Plasticity-driven individualization of olfactory coding in mushroom body output neurons

Although all sensory circuits ascend to higher brain areas where stimuli are represented in sparse, stimulus-specific activity patterns, relatively little is known about sensory coding on the descending side of neural circuits, as a network converges. In insects, mushroom bodies (MBs) have been an important model system for studying sparse coding in the olfactory system^1–3, where this format is important for accurate memory formation^4–6. In Drosophila, it has recently been shown that the 2000 Kenyon cells (KCs) of the MB converge onto a population of only 35 MB output neurons (MBONs), that fall into 22 anatomically distinct cell types^7,8. Here we provide the first comprehensive view of olfactory representations at the fourth layer of the circuit, where we find a clear transition in the principles of sensory coding. We show that MBON tuning curves are highly correlated with one another. This is in sharp contrast to the process of progressive decorrelation of tuning in the earlier layers of the circuit^2,9. Instead, at the population level, odor representations are reformatted so that positive and negative correlations arise between representations of different odors. At the single-cell level, we show that uniquely identifiable MBONs display profoundly different tuning across different animals, but tuning of the same neuron across the two hemispheres of an individual fly was nearly identical. Thus, individualized coordination of tuning arises at this level of the olfactory circuit. Furthermore, we find that this individualization is an active process that requires a learning-related gene, rutabaga. Ultimately, neural circuits have to flexibly map highly stimulus-specific information in sparse layers onto a limited number of different motor outputs. The reformatting of sensory representations we observe here may mark the beginning of this sensory-motor transition in the olfactory system.

Aversion and attraction through olfaction

Sensory cues that predict reward or punishment are fundamental drivers of animal behavior. For example, attractive odors of palatable food or a potential mate predict reward, while aversive odors of pathogen-laced food or a predator predict punishment. Aversive and attractive odors can be detected by intermingled sensory neurons that express highly related olfactory receptors and display similar central projections. These findings raise basic questions of how innate odor valence is extracted from olfactory circuits, how such circuits are developmentally endowed and modulated by state, and how innate and learned odor responses are related. Here, we review odors, receptors and neural circuits associated with stimulus valence, discussing salient principles derived from studies on nematodes, insects and vertebrates. Understanding the organization of neural circuitry that mediates odor aversion and attraction will provide key insights into how the brain functions.

Synapsin determines memory strength after punishment- and relief-learning

Adverse life events can induce two kinds of memory with opposite valence, dependent on timing: "negative" memories for stimuli preceding them and "positive" memories for stimuli experienced at the moment of "relief." Such punishment memory and relief memory are found in insects, rats, and man. For example, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) avoid an odor after odor-shock training ("forward conditioning" of the odor), whereas after shock-odor training ("backward conditioning" of the odor) they approach it. Do these timing-dependent associative processes share molecular determinants? We focus on the role of Synapsin, a conserved presynaptic phosphoprotein regulating the balance between the reserve pool and the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles. We find that a lack of Synapsin leaves task-relevant sensory and motor faculties unaffected. In contrast, both punishment memory and relief memory scores are reduced. These defects reflect a true lessening of associative memory strength, as distortions in nonassociative processing (e.g., susceptibility to handling, adaptation, habituation, sensitization), discrimination ability, and changes in the time course of coincidence detection can be ruled out as alternative explanations. Reductions in punishment- and relief-memory strength are also observed upon an RNAi-mediated knock-down of Synapsin, and are rescued both by acutely restoring Synapsin and by locally restoring it in the mushroom bodies of mutant flies. Thus, both punishment memory and relief memory require the Synapsin protein and in this sense share genetic and molecular determinants. We note that corresponding molecular commonalities between punishment memory and relief memory in humans would constrain pharmacological attempts to selectively interfere with excessive associative punishment memories, e.g., after traumatic experiences.

Learning: the good, the bad, and the fly

Olfactory memories can be very good-your mother's baking-or very bad-your father's cooking. We go through life forming these different associations with the smells we encounter. But what makes one association pleasant and another repulsive? Work in deep areas of the Drosophila brain has revealed the beginnings of an answer, as reported in this issue of Neuron by Owald et al. (2015).

Two independent mushroom body output circuits retrieve the six discrete components of Drosophila aversive memory

Understanding how the various memory components are encoded and how they interact to guide behavior requires knowledge of the underlying neural circuits. Currently, aversive olfactory memory in Drosophila is behaviorally subdivided into four discrete phases. Among these, short- and long-term memories rely, respectively, on the γ and α/β Kenyon cells (KCs), two distinct subsets of the ∼2,000 neurons in the mushroom body (MB). Whereas V2 efferent neurons retrieve memory from α/β KCs, the neurons that retrieve short-term memory are unknown. We identified a specific pair of MB efferent neurons, named M6, that retrieve memory from γ KCs. Moreover, our network analysis revealed that six discrete memory phases actually exist, three of which have been conflated in the past. At each time point, two distinct memory components separately recruit either V2 or M6 output pathways. Memory retrieval thus features a dramatic convergence from KCs to MB efferent neurons.

A model for non-monotonic intensity coding

Peripheral neurons of most sensory systems increase their response with increasing stimulus intensity. Behavioural responses, however, can be specific to some intermediate intensity level whose particular value might be innate or associatively learned. Learning such a preference requires an adjustable trans- formation from a monotonic stimulus representation at the sensory periphery to a non-monotonic representation for the motor command. How do neural systems accomplish this task? We tackle this general question focusing on odour-intensity learning in the fruit fly, whose first- and second-order olfactory neurons show monotonic stimulus-response curves. Nevertheless, flies form associative memories specific to particular trained odour intensities. Thus, downstream of the first two olfactory processing layers, odour intensity must be re-coded to enable intensity-specific associative learning. We present a minimal, feed-forward, three-layer circuit, which implements the required transformation by combining excitation, inhibition, and, as a decisive third element, homeostatic plasticity. Key features of this circuit motif are consistent with the known architecture and physiology of the fly olfactory system, whereas alternative mechanisms are either not composed of simple, scalable building blocks or not compatible with physiological observations. The simplicity of the circuit and the robustness of its function under parameter changes make this computational motif an attractive candidate for tuneable non-monotonic intensity coding.

Activity of defined mushroom body output neurons underlies learned olfactory behavior in Drosophila

During olfactory learning in fruit flies, dopaminergic neurons assign value to odor representations in the mushroom body Kenyon cells. Here we identify a class of downstream glutamatergic mushroom body output neurons (MBONs) called M4/6, or MBON-β2β′2a, MBON-β′2mp, and MBON-γ5β′2a, whose dendritic fields overlap with dopaminergic neuron projections in the tips of the β, β′, and γ lobes. This anatomy and their odor tuning suggests that M4/6 neurons pool odor-driven Kenyon cell synaptic outputs. Like that of mushroom body neurons, M4/6 output is required for expression of appetitive and aversive memory performance. Moreover, appetitive and aversive olfactory conditioning bidirectionally alters the relative odor-drive of M4β′ neurons (MBON-β′2mp). Direct block of M4/6 neurons in naive flies mimics appetitive conditioning, being sufficient to convert odor-driven avoidance into approach, while optogenetically activating these neurons induces avoidance behavior. We therefore propose that drive to the M4/6 neurons reflects odor-directed behavioral choice.

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Glutamatergic mushroom body output neurons are required for memory expression

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Training bidirectionally alters relative odor drive to output neurons

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Blocking glutamatergic mushroom body output neurons mimics appetitive conditioning

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Optogenetic activation drives avoidance behavior

Metabolic learning and memory formation by the brain influence systemic metabolic homeostasis

Metabolic homeostasis is regulated by the brain, whether this regulation involves learning and memory of metabolic information remains unexplored. Here we use a calorie-based, taste-independent learning/memory paradigm to show that Drosophila form metabolic memories that help balancing food choice with caloric intake; however, this metabolic learning or memory is lost under chronic high-calorie feeding. We show that loss of individual learning/memory-regulating genes causes a metabolic learning defect, leading to elevated trehalose and lipids levels. Importantly, this function of metabolic learning requires not only the mushroom body but the hypothalamus-like pars intercerebralis, while NF-κB activation in the pars intercerebralis mimics chronic overnutrition in that it causes metabolic learning impairment and disorders. Finally, we evaluate this concept of metabolic learning/memory in mice, suggesting the hypothalamus is involved in a form of nutritional learning and memory, which is critical for determining resistance or susceptibility to obesity. In conclusion, our data indicate the brain, and potentially the hypothalamus, direct metabolic learning and the formation of memories, which contribute to the control of systemic metabolic homeostasis.

Distinct dopamine neurons mediate reward signals for short- and long-term memories

Drosophila melanogaster can acquire a stable appetitive olfactory memory when the presentation of a sugar reward and an odor are paired. However, the neuronal mechanisms by which a single training induces long-term memory are poorly understood. Here we show that two distinct subsets of dopamine neurons in the fly brain signal reward for short-term (STM) and long-term memories (LTM). One subset induces memory that decays within several hours, whereas the other induces memory that gradually develops after training. They convey reward signals to spatially segregated synaptic domains of the mushroom body (MB), a potential site for convergence. Furthermore, we identified a single type of dopamine neuron that conveys the reward signal to restricted subdomains of the mushroom body lobes and induces long-term memory. Constant appetitive memory retention after a single training session thus comprises two memory components triggered by distinct dopamine neurons.

A big picture of a small brain

A detailed map of the neurons that carry information away from the mushroom bodies in the brains of fruit flies has improved our understanding of the ways in which experiences can modify behaviour.

Mushroom body output neurons encode valence and guide memory-based action selection in Drosophila

Animals discriminate stimuli, learn their predictive value and use this knowledge to modify their behavior. In Drosophila, the mushroom body (MB) plays a key role in these processes. Sensory stimuli are sparsely represented by ∼2000 Kenyon cells, which converge onto 34 output neurons (MBONs) of 21 types. We studied the role of MBONs in several associative learning tasks and in sleep regulation, revealing the extent to which information flow is segregated into distinct channels and suggesting possible roles for the multi-layered MBON network. We also show that optogenetic activation of MBONs can, depending on cell type, induce repulsion or attraction in flies. The behavioral effects of MBON perturbation are combinatorial, suggesting that the MBON ensemble collectively represents valence. We propose that local, stimulus-specific dopaminergic modulation selectively alters the balance within the MBON network for those stimuli. Our results suggest that valence encoded by the MBON ensemble biases memory-based action selection.

The neuronal architecture of the mushroom body provides a logic for associative learning

We identified the neurons comprising the Drosophila mushroom body (MB), an associative center in invertebrate brains, and provide a comprehensive map describing their potential connections. Each of the 21 MB output neuron (MBON) types elaborates segregated dendritic arbors along the parallel axons of ∼2000 Kenyon cells, forming 15 compartments that collectively tile the MB lobes. MBON axons project to five discrete neuropils outside of the MB and three MBON types form a feedforward network in the lobes. Each of the 20 dopaminergic neuron (DAN) types projects axons to one, or at most two, of the MBON compartments. Convergence of DAN axons on compartmentalized Kenyon cell-MBON synapses creates a highly ordered unit that can support learning to impose valence on sensory representations. The elucidation of the complement of neurons of the MB provides a comprehensive anatomical substrate from which one can infer a functional logic of associative olfactory learning and memory.

Functional neuroanatomy of Drosophila olfactory memory formation

New approaches, techniques and tools invented over the last decade and a half have revolutionized the functional dissection of neural circuitry underlying Drosophila learning. The new methodologies have been used aggressively by researchers attempting to answer three critical questions about olfactory memories formed with appetitive and aversive reinforcers: (1) Which neurons within the olfactory nervous system mediate the acquisition of memory? (2) What is the complete neural circuitry extending from the site(s) of acquisition to the site(s) controlling memory expression? (3) How is information processed across this circuit to consolidate early-forming, disruptable memories to stable, late memories? Much progress has been made and a few strong conclusions have emerged: (1) Acquisition occurs at multiple sites within the olfactory nervous system but is mediated predominantly by the γ mushroom body neurons. (2) The expression of long-term memory is completely dependent on the synaptic output of α/β mushroom body neurons. (3) Consolidation occurs, in part, through circuit interactions between mushroom body and dorsal paired medial neurons. Despite this progress, a complete and unified model that details the pathway from acquisition to memory expression remains elusive.

Odd-skipped labels a group of distinct neurons associated with the mushroom body and optic lobe in the adult Drosophila brain

Olfactory processing has been intensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster. However, we still know little about the descending neural pathways from the higher order processing centers and how these connect with other neural circuits. Here we describe, in detail, the adult projections patterns that arise from a cluster of 78 neurons, defined by the expression of the Odd-skipped transcription factor. We term these neurons Odd neurons. By using expression of genetically encoded axonal and dendritic markers, we show that a subset of the Odd neurons projects dendrites into the calyx of the mushroom body (MB) and axons into the inferior protocerebrum. We exclude the possibility that the Odd neurons are part of the well-known Kenyon cells whose projections form the MB and conclude that the Odd neurons belong to a previously not described class of extrinsic MB neurons. In addition, three of the Odd neurons project into the lobula plate of the optic lobe, and two of these cells extend axons ipsi- and contralaterally in the brain. Anatomically, these cells do not resemble any previously described lobula plate tangential cells (LPTCs) in Drosophila. We show that the Odd neurons are predominantly cholinergic but also include a small number of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons. Finally, we provide evidence that the Odd neurons are a hemilineage, suggesting they are born from a defined set of neuroblasts. Our anatomical analysis hints at the possibility that subgroups of Odd neurons could be involved in olfactory and visual processing.

Differential involvement of glutamate-gated chloride channel splice variants in the olfactory memory processes of the honeybee Apis mellifera

Glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl) belong to the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily and their expression had been described in several invertebrate nervous systems. In the honeybee, a unique gene amel_glucl encodes two alternatively spliced subunits, Amel_GluCl A and Amel_GluCl B. The expression and differential localization of those variants in the honeybee brain had been previously reported. Here we characterized the involvement of each variant in olfactory learning and memory processes, using specific small-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting each variant. Firstly, the efficacy of the two siRNAs to decrease their targets' expression was tested, both at mRNA and protein levels. The two proteins showed a decrease of their respective expression 24h after injection. Secondly, each siRNA was injected into the brain to test whether or not it affected olfactory memory by using a classical paradigm of conditioning the proboscis extension reflex (PER). Amel_GluCl A was found to be involved only in retrieval of 1-nonanol, whereas Amel_GluCl B was involved in the PER response to 2-hexanol used as a conditioned stimulus or as new odorant. Here for the first time, a differential behavioral involvement of two highly similar GluCl subunits has been characterized in an invertebrate species.

Induction of aversive learning through thermogenetic activation of Kenyon cell ensembles in Drosophila

Drosophila represents a model organism to analyze neuronal mechanisms underlying learning and memory. Kenyon cells of the Drosophila mushroom body are required for associative odor learning and memory retrieval. But is the mushroom body sufficient to acquire and retrieve an associative memory? To answer this question we have conceived an experimental approach to bypass olfactory sensory input and to thermogenetically activate sparse and random ensembles of Kenyon cells directly. We found that if the artifical activation of Kenyon cell ensembles coincides with a salient, aversive stimulus learning was induced. The animals adjusted their behavior in a subsequent test situation and actively avoided reactivation of these Kenyon cells. Our results show that Kenyon cell activity in coincidence with a salient aversive stimulus can suffice to form an associative memory. Memory retrieval is characterized by a closed feedback loop between a behavioral action and the reactivation of sparse ensembles of Kenyon cells.

Shocking revelations and saccharin sweetness in the study of Drosophila olfactory memory

It is now almost forty years since the first description of learning in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Various incarnations of the classic mutagenesis approach envisaged in the early days have provided around one hundred learning defective mutant fly strains. Recent technological advances permit temporal control of neural function in the behaving fly. These approaches have radically changed experiments in the field and have provided a neural circuit perspective of memory formation, consolidation and retrieval. Combining neural perturbations with more classical mutant intervention allows investigators to interrogate the molecular and cellular processes of memory within the defined neural circuits. Here, we summarize some of the progress made in the last ten years that indicates a remarkable conservation of the neural mechanisms of memory formation between flies and mammals. We emphasize that considering an ethologically-relevant viewpoint might provide additional experimental power in studies of Drosophila memory.