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Mahishi D, Triphan T, Hesse R, Huetteroth W. The Panopticon-Assessing the Effect of Starvation on Prolonged Fly Activity and Place Preference. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:640146. [PMID: 33841109 PMCID: PMC8026880 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.640146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal behaviours are demonstrably governed by sensory stimulation, previous experience and internal states like hunger. With increasing hunger, priorities shift towards foraging and feeding. During foraging, flies are known to employ efficient path integration strategies. However, general long-term activity patterns for both hungry and satiated flies in conditions of foraging remain to be better understood. Similarly, little is known about how permanent contact chemosensory stimulation affects locomotion. To address these questions, we have developed a novel, simplistic fly activity tracking setup—the Panopticon. Using a 3D-printed Petri dish inset, our assay allows recording of walking behaviour, of several flies in parallel, with all arena surfaces covered by a uniform substrate layer. We tested two constellations of providing food: (i) in single patches and (ii) omnipresent within the substrate layer. Fly tracking is done with FIJI, further assessment, analysis and presentation is done with a custom-built MATLAB analysis framework. We find that starvation history leads to a long-lasting reduction in locomotion, as well as a delayed place preference for food patches which seems to be not driven by immediate hunger motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepthi Mahishi
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tilman Triphan
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ricarda Hesse
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wolf Huetteroth
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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2
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Smith BH, Cook CN. Experimental psychology meets behavioral ecology: what laboratory studies of learning polymorphisms mean for learning under natural conditions, and vice versa. J Neurogenet 2020; 34:178-183. [PMID: 32024408 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1718674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Behavior genetics, and specifically the study of learning and memory, has benefitted immensely from the development of powerful forward- and reverse-genetic methods for investigating the relationships between genes and behavior. Application of these methods in controlled laboratory settings has led to insights into gene-behavior relationships. In this perspective article, we argue that the field is now poised to make significant inroads into understanding the adaptive value of heritable variation in behavior in natural populations. Studies of natural variation with several species, in particular, are now in a position to complement laboratory studies of mechanisms, and sometimes this work can lead to counterintuitive insights into the mechanism of gene action on behavior. We make this case using a recent example from work with the honey bee, Apis mellifera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian H Smith
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Chelsea N Cook
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Wolf R, Heisenberg M, Brembs B, Waddell S, Mishra A, Kehrer A, Simenson A. Memory, anticipation, action – working with Troy D. Zars. J Neurogenet 2020; 34:9-20. [DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1715976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Wolf
- Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Björn Brembs
- Institut für Zoologie-Neurogenetik, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Scott Waddell
- Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Aditi Mishra
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Abigail Kehrer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Angelynn Simenson
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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Abstract
Preference for spatial locations to maximize favorable outcomes and minimize aversive experiences helps animals survive and adapt to the changing environment. Both visual and non-visual cues play a critical role in spatial navigation and memory of a place supports and guides these strategies. Here we present the neural, genetic and behavioral processes involved in place memory formation using Drosophila melanogaster with a focus on non-visual cue based spatial memories. The work presented here highlights the work done by Dr. Troy Zars and his colleagues with an emphasis on role of biogenic amines in learning, cell biological mechanisms of neural systems and behavioral plasticity of place conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Sitaraman
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, California State University-East Bay, Hayward, CA, USA
| | - Holly LaFerriere
- Department of Biology, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN, USA
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5
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A biphasic locomotor response to acute unsignaled high temperature exposure in Drosophila. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198702. [PMID: 29883493 PMCID: PMC5993278 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Unsignaled stress can have profound effects on animal behavior. While most investigation of stress-effects on behavior follows chronic exposures, less is understood about acute exposures and potential after-effects. We examined walking activity in Drosophila following acute exposure to high temperature or electric shock. Compared to initial walking activity, flies first increase walking with exposure to high temperatures then have a strong reduction in activity. These effects are related to the intensity of the high temperature and number of exposures. The reduction in walking activity following high temperature and electric shock exposures survives context changes and lasts at least five hours. Reduction in the function of the biogenic amines octopamine / tyramine and serotonin both strongly blunt the increase in locomotor activity with high temperature exposure. However, neither set of biogenic amines alter the long lasting depression in walking activity after exposure.
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Baggett V, Mishra A, Kehrer AL, Robinson AO, Shaw P, Zars T. Place learning overrides innate behaviors in Drosophila. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 25:122-128. [PMID: 29449456 PMCID: PMC5817280 DOI: 10.1101/lm.046136.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Animals in a natural environment confront many sensory cues. Some of these cues bias behavioral decisions independent of experience, and action selection can reveal a stimulus–response (S–R) connection. However, in a changing environment it would be a benefit for an animal to update behavioral action selection based on experience, and learning might modify even strong S–R relationships. How animals use learning to modify S–R relationships is a largely open question. Three sensory stimuli, air, light, and gravity sources were presented to individual Drosophila melanogaster in both naïve and place conditioning situations. Flies were tested for a potential modification of the S–R relationships of anemotaxis, phototaxis, and negative gravitaxis by a contingency that associated place with high temperature. With two stimuli, significant S–R relationships were abandoned when the cue was in conflict with the place learning contingency. The role of the dunce (dnc) cAMP-phosphodiesterase and the rutabaga (rut) adenylyl cyclase were examined in all conditions. Both dnc1 and rut2080 mutant flies failed to display significant S–R relationships with two attractive cues, and have characteristically lower conditioning scores under most conditions. Thus, learning can have profound effects on separate native S–R relationships in multiple contexts, and mutation of the dnc and rut genes reveal complex effects on behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Baggett
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Aditi Mishra
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Abigail L Kehrer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Abbey O Robinson
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Paul Shaw
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Troy Zars
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
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Sitaraman D, Kramer EF, Kahsai L, Ostrowski D, Zars T. Discrete Serotonin Systems Mediate Memory Enhancement and Escape Latencies after Unpredicted Aversive Experience in Drosophila Place Memory. Front Syst Neurosci 2017; 11:92. [PMID: 29321732 PMCID: PMC5732137 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2017.00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Feedback mechanisms in operant learning are critical for animals to increase reward or reduce punishment. However, not all conditions have a behavior that can readily resolve an event. Animals must then try out different behaviors to better their situation through outcome learning. This form of learning allows for novel solutions and with positive experience can lead to unexpected behavioral routines. Learned helplessness, as a type of outcome learning, manifests in part as increases in escape latency in the face of repeated unpredicted shocks. Little is known about the mechanisms of outcome learning. When fruit fly Drosophilamelanogaster are exposed to unpredicted high temperatures in a place learning paradigm, flies both increase escape latencies and have a higher memory when given control of a place/temperature contingency. Here we describe discrete serotonin neuronal circuits that mediate aversive reinforcement, escape latencies, and memory levels after place learning in the presence and absence of unexpected aversive events. The results show that two features of learned helplessness depend on the same modulatory system as aversive reinforcement. Moreover, changes in aversive reinforcement and escape latency depend on local neural circuit modulation, while memory enhancement requires larger modulation of multiple behavioral control circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Sitaraman
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Elizabeth F Kramer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Lily Kahsai
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Daniela Ostrowski
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Troy Zars
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
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Dewar ADM, Wystrach A, Philippides A, Graham P. Neural coding in the visual system of Drosophila melanogaster: How do small neural populations support visually guided behaviours? PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005735. [PMID: 29016606 PMCID: PMC5654266 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
All organisms wishing to survive and reproduce must be able to respond adaptively to a complex, changing world. Yet the computational power available is constrained by biology and evolution, favouring mechanisms that are parsimonious yet robust. Here we investigate the information carried in small populations of visually responsive neurons in Drosophila melanogaster. These so-called 'ring neurons', projecting to the ellipsoid body of the central complex, are reported to be necessary for complex visual tasks such as pattern recognition and visual navigation. Recently the receptive fields of these neurons have been mapped, allowing us to investigate how well they can support such behaviours. For instance, in a simulation of classic pattern discrimination experiments, we show that the pattern of output from the ring neurons matches observed fly behaviour. However, performance of the neurons (as with flies) is not perfect and can be easily improved with the addition of extra neurons, suggesting the neurons' receptive fields are not optimised for recognising abstract shapes, a conclusion which casts doubt on cognitive explanations of fly behaviour in pattern recognition assays. Using artificial neural networks, we then assess how easy it is to decode more general information about stimulus shape from the ring neuron population codes. We show that these neurons are well suited for encoding information about size, position and orientation, which are more relevant behavioural parameters for a fly than abstract pattern properties. This leads us to suggest that in order to understand the properties of neural systems, one must consider how perceptual circuits put information at the service of behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D. M. Dewar
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Andrew Philippides
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
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Ostrowski D, Kahsai L, Kramer EF, Knutson P, Zars T. Place memory retention in Drosophila. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2015; 123:217-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Revised: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 06/26/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Dewar ADM, Wystrach A, Graham P, Philippides A. Navigation-specific neural coding in the visual system of Drosophila. Biosystems 2015; 136:120-7. [PMID: 26310914 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2015] [Revised: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 07/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster are a good system in which to understand the minimal requirements for widespread visually guided behaviours such as navigation, due to their small brains (adults possess only 100,000 neurons) and the availability of neurogenetic techniques which allow the identification of task-specific cell types. Recently published data describe the receptive fields for two classes of visually responsive neurons (R2 and R3/R4d ring neurons in the central complex) that are essential for visual tasks such as orientation memory for salient objects and simple pattern discriminations. What is interesting is that these cells have very large receptive fields and are very small in number, suggesting that each sub-population of cells might be a bottleneck in the processing of visual information for a specific behaviour, as each subset of cells effectively condenses information from approximately 3000 visual receptors in the eye, to fewer than 50 neurons in total. It has recently been shown how R1 ring neurons, which receive input from the same areas as the R2 and R3/R4d cells, are necessary for place learning in Drosophila. However, how R1 neurons enable place learning is unknown. By examining the information provided by different populations of hypothetical visual neurons in simulations of experimental arenas, we show that neurons with ring neuron-like receptive fields are sufficient for defining a location visually. In this way we provide a link between the type of information conveyed by ring neurons and the behaviour they support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D M Dewar
- School of Life Sciences, John Maynard Smith Building, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QJ, UK.
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Appleton Tower, 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9LE, UK
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, John Maynard Smith Building, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Andrew Philippides
- Department of Informatics, Chichester I, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK.
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11
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Kahsai L, Zars T. Learning and memory in Drosophila: behavior, genetics, and neural systems. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2011; 99:139-67. [PMID: 21906539 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-387003-2.00006-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The rich behavioral repertoire that Drosophila use to navigate in their natural environment suggests that flies can use memories to inform decisions. Development of paradigms to examine memories that restrict behavioral choice was essential in furthering our understanding of the genetics and neural systems of memory formation in the fly. Olfactory, visual, and place memory paradigms have proven influential in determining principles for the mechanisms of memory formation. Several parts of the nervous system have been shown to be important for different types of memories, including the mushroom bodies and the central complex. Thus far, about 40 genes have been linked to normal olfactory short-term memory. A subset of these genes have also been tested for a role in visual and place memory. Some genes have a common function in memory formation, specificity of action comes from where in the nervous system these genes act. Alternatively, some genes have a more restricted role in different types of memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Kahsai
- University of Missouri, Division of Biological Sciences, 114 Lefevre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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12
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Knight K. UNPREDICTABILITY HELPS FLIES REMEMBER TO AVOID HEAT. J Exp Biol 2010. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.052936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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