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Paoli M, Wystrach A, Ronsin B, Giurfa M. Analysis of fast calcium dynamics of honey bee olfactory coding. eLife 2024; 13:RP93789. [PMID: 39235447 PMCID: PMC11377060 DOI: 10.7554/elife.93789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Odour processing exhibits multiple parallels between vertebrate and invertebrate olfactory systems. Insects, in particular, have emerged as relevant models for olfactory studies because of the tractability of their olfactory circuits. Here, we used fast calcium imaging to track the activity of projection neurons in the honey bee antennal lobe (AL) during olfactory stimulation at high temporal resolution. We observed a heterogeneity of response profiles and an abundance of inhibitory activities, resulting in various response latencies and stimulus-specific post-odour neural signatures. Recorded calcium signals were fed to a mushroom body (MB) model constructed implementing the fundamental features of connectivity between olfactory projection neurons, Kenyon cells (KC), and MB output neurons (MBON). The model accounts for the increase of odorant discrimination in the MB compared to the AL and reveals the recruitment of two distinct KC populations that represent odorants and their aftersmell as two separate but temporally coherent neural objects. Finally, we showed that the learning-induced modulation of KC-to-MBON synapses can explain both the variations in associative learning scores across different conditioning protocols used in bees and the bees' response latency. Thus, it provides a simple explanation of how the time contingency between the stimulus and the reward can be encoded without the need for time tracking. This study broadens our understanding of olfactory coding and learning in honey bees. It demonstrates that a model based on simple MB connectivity rules and fed with real physiological data can explain fundamental aspects of odour processing and associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Paoli
- Neuroscience Paris-Seine - Institut de biologie Paris-Seine, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Brice Ronsin
- Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Neuroscience Paris-Seine - Institut de biologie Paris-Seine, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, Toulouse, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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2
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Ganguly I, Heckman EL, Litwin-Kumar A, Clowney EJ, Behnia R. Diversity of visual inputs to Kenyon cells of the Drosophila mushroom body. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5698. [PMID: 38972924 PMCID: PMC11228034 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49616-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The arthropod mushroom body is well-studied as an expansion layer representing olfactory stimuli and linking them to contingent events. However, 8% of mushroom body Kenyon cells in Drosophila melanogaster receive predominantly visual input, and their function remains unclear. Here, we identify inputs to visual Kenyon cells using the FlyWire adult whole-brain connectome. Input repertoires are similar across hemispheres and connectomes with certain inputs highly overrepresented. Many visual neurons presynaptic to Kenyon cells have large receptive fields, while interneuron inputs receive spatially restricted signals that may be tuned to specific visual features. Individual visual Kenyon cells randomly sample sparse inputs from combinations of visual channels, including multiple optic lobe neuropils. These connectivity patterns suggest that visual coding in the mushroom body, like olfactory coding, is sparse, distributed, and combinatorial. However, the specific input repertoire to the smaller population of visual Kenyon cells suggests a constrained encoding of visual stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishani Ganguly
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emily L Heckman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ashok Litwin-Kumar
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - E Josephine Clowney
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Rudy Behnia
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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3
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Bengochea M, Preat T, Hassan B. A New Behavioral Paradigm for Visual Classical Conditioning in Drosophila. Bio Protoc 2023; 13:e4875. [PMID: 37969763 PMCID: PMC10632160 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual learning in animals is a remarkable cognitive ability that plays a crucial role in their survival and adaptation. Therefore, the ability to learn is highly conserved among animals. Despite lacking a centralized nervous system like vertebrates, invertebrates have demonstrated remarkable learning abilities. Here, we describe a simple behavioral assay that allows the analysis of visual associative learning in individually traceable freely walking adult fruit flies. The setup is based on the simple and widely used behavioral assay to study orientation behavior in flies. A single wing-clipped fly that has been starved for 21 h is placed on a platform where two unreachable opposite visual sets are displayed. This visual learning protocol was initially developed to study the cognitive ability of fruit flies to process numerical information. Through the application of the protocol, flies are able to associate a specific visual set with an appetitive reward. This association is revealed 2 h later during the testing session where we observed a change in their preference upon learning (i.e., change in their spontaneous preference). Moreover, this protocol could potentially be used to associate any other visual object/property to the reward, expanding the opportunities of studying visual learning in freely walking fruit flies at individual level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Bengochea
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Preat
- Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Bassem Hassan
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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4
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Ganguly I, Heckman EL, Litwin-Kumar A, Clowney EJ, Behnia R. Diversity of visual inputs to Kenyon cells of the Drosophila mushroom body. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.12.561793. [PMID: 37873086 PMCID: PMC10592809 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.12.561793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The arthropod mushroom body is well-studied as an expansion layer that represents olfactory stimuli and links them to contingent events. However, 8% of mushroom body Kenyon cells in Drosophila melanogaster receive predominantly visual input, and their tuning and function are poorly understood. Here, we use the FlyWire adult whole-brain connectome to identify inputs to visual Kenyon cells. The types of visual neurons we identify are similar across hemispheres and connectomes with certain inputs highly overrepresented. Many visual projection neurons presynaptic to Kenyon cells receive input from large swathes of visual space, while local visual interneurons, providing smaller fractions of input, receive more spatially restricted signals that may be tuned to specific features of the visual scene. Like olfactory Kenyon cells, visual Kenyon cells receive sparse inputs from different combinations of visual channels, including inputs from multiple optic lobe neuropils. The sets of inputs to individual visual Kenyon cells are consistent with random sampling of available inputs. These connectivity patterns suggest that visual coding in the mushroom body, like olfactory coding, is sparse, distributed, and combinatorial. However, the expansion coding properties appear different, with a specific repertoire of visual inputs projecting onto a relatively small number of visual Kenyon cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishani Ganguly
- The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Emily L Heckman
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Ashok Litwin-Kumar
- The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - E Josephine Clowney
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute Affiliate
| | - Rudy Behnia
- The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
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5
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Paoli M, Macri C, Giurfa M. A cognitive account of trace conditioning in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 57:101034. [PMID: 37044245 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Trace conditioning is a form of Pavlovian learning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) are separated by a temporal gap. Insects learn trace associations of variable nature (appetitive, aversive) and involving CSs of different sensory modalities (olfactory, visual). The accessibility of the insect neural system in behaving animals allowed identifying neural processes driving trace conditioning: the existence of prolonged neural responses to the CS after stimulus offset and the anticipation of US responses during the free-stimulus gap. Specific brain structures, such as the mushroom bodies seem to be allocated to this learning form. Here, we posit that a further component facilitating trace conditioning in insects relates to neuromodulatory mechanisms underlying enhanced attention. We thus propose a model based on different types of mushroom-body neurons, which provides a cognitive account of trace conditioning in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Paoli
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Catherine Macri
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
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6
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Zeng J, Li X, Zhang R, Lv M, Wang Y, Tan K, Xia X, Wan J, Jing M, Zhang X, Li Y, Yang Y, Wang L, Chu J, Li Y, Li Y. Local 5-HT signaling bi-directionally regulates the coincidence time window for associative learning. Neuron 2023; 111:1118-1135.e5. [PMID: 36706757 PMCID: PMC11152601 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The coincidence between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) is essential for associative learning; however, the mechanism regulating the duration of this temporal window remains unclear. Here, we found that serotonin (5-HT) bi-directionally regulates the coincidence time window of olfactory learning in Drosophila and affects synaptic plasticity of Kenyon cells (KCs) in the mushroom body (MB). Utilizing GPCR-activation-based (GRAB) neurotransmitter sensors, we found that KC-released acetylcholine (ACh) activates a serotonergic dorsal paired medial (DPM) neuron, which in turn provides inhibitory feedback to KCs. Physiological stimuli induce spatially heterogeneous 5-HT signals, which proportionally gate the intrinsic coincidence time windows of different MB compartments. Artificially reducing or increasing the DPM neuron-released 5-HT shortens or prolongs the coincidence window, respectively. In a sequential trace conditioning paradigm, this serotonergic neuromodulation helps to bridge the CS-US temporal gap. Altogether, we report a model circuitry for perceiving the temporal coincidence and determining the causal relationship between environmental events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhi Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518132, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China.
| | - Xuelin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Renzimo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Yuanpei College, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Mingyue Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yipan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Ke Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiju Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-THU-NIBS Joint Graduate Program, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jinxia Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Miao Jing
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Xiuning Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yu Li
- School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Institute of Biophysics, State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Liang Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Optical Imaging Technology & Center for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging & CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jun Chu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Optical Imaging Technology & Center for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging & CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yan Li
- Institute of Biophysics, State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518132, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Yuanpei College, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-THU-NIBS Joint Graduate Program, Beijing 100871, China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China.
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7
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Thiagarajan D, Eberl F, Veit D, Hansson BS, Knaden M, Sachse S. Aversive Bimodal Associations Differently Impact Visual and Olfactory Memory Performance in Drosophila. iScience 2022; 25:105485. [PMID: 36404920 PMCID: PMC9672954 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals form sensory associations and store them as memories to guide behavioral decisions. Although unimodal learning has been studied extensively in insects, it is important to explore sensory cues in combination because most behaviors require multimodal inputs. In our study, we optimized the T-maze to employ both visual and olfactory cues in a classical aversive learning paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster. In contrast to unimodal training, bimodal training evoked a significant short-term visual memory after a single training trial. Interestingly, the same protocol did not enhance short-term olfactory memory and even had a negative impact. However, compromised long-lasting olfactory memory significantly improved after bimodal training. Our study demonstrates that the effect of bimodal integration on learning is not always beneficial and is conditional upon the formed memory strengths. We postulate that flies utilize information on a need-to basis: bimodal training augments weakly formed memories while stronger associations are impacted differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devasena Thiagarajan
- Research Group Olfactory Coding, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Daniel Veit
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Bill S. Hansson
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Markus Knaden
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Silke Sachse
- Research Group Olfactory Coding, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
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8
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Klappenbach M, Lara AE, Locatelli FF. Honey bees can store and retrieve independent memory traces after complex experiences that combine appetitive and aversive associations. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275573. [PMID: 35485192 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.244229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Real-world experiences do often mix appetitive and aversive events. Understanding the ability of animals to extract, store and use this information is an important issue in neurobiology. We used honey bees as model organism to study learning and memory after a differential conditioning that combines appetitive and aversive training trials. First of all, we describe an aversive conditioning paradigm that constitutes a clear opposite of the well known appetitive olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response. A neutral odour is presented paired with the bitter substance quinine. Aversive memory is evidenced later as an odour-specific impairment in appetitive conditioning. Then we tested the effect of mixing appetitive and aversive conditioning trials distributed along the same training session. Differential conditioning protocols like this were used before to study the ability to discriminate odours, however they were not focused on whether appetitive and aversive memories are formed. We found that after a differential conditioning, honey bees establish independent appetitive and aversive memories that do not interfere with each other during acquisition or storage. Finally, we moved the question forward to retrieval and memory expression to evaluate what happens when appetitive and the aversive learned odours are mixed during test. Interestingly, opposite memories compete in a way that they do not cancel each other out. Honey bees showed the ability to switch from expressing appetitive to aversive memory depending on their satiation level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín Klappenbach
- Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín E Lara
- Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando F Locatelli
- Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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9
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Smith MAY, Honegger KS, Turner G, de Bivort B. Idiosyncratic learning performance in flies. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20210424. [PMID: 35104427 PMCID: PMC8807056 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals vary in their innate behaviours, even when they have the same genome and have been reared in the same environment. The extent of individuality in plastic behaviours, like learning, is less well characterized. Also unknown is the extent to which intragenotypic differences in learning generalize: if an individual performs well in one assay, will it perform well in other assays? We investigated this using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, an organism long-used to study the mechanistic basis of learning and memory. We found that isogenic flies, reared in identical laboratory conditions, and subject to classical conditioning that associated odorants with electric shock, exhibit clear individuality in their learning responses. Flies that performed well when an odour was paired with shock tended to perform well when the odour was paired with bitter taste or when other odours were paired with shock. Thus, individuality in learning performance appears to be prominent in isogenic animals reared identically, and individual differences in learning performance generalize across some aversive sensory modalities. Establishing these results in flies opens up the possibility of studying the genetic and neural circuit basis of individual differences in learning in a highly suitable model organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A.-Y. Smith
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Kyle S. Honegger
- Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Glenn Turner
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Benjamin de Bivort
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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10
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Lesar A, Tahir J, Wolk J, Gershow M. Switch-like and persistent memory formation in individual Drosophila larvae. eLife 2021; 10:e70317. [PMID: 34636720 PMCID: PMC8510578 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Associative learning allows animals to use past experience to predict future events. The circuits underlying memory formation support immediate and sustained changes in function, often in response to a single example. Larval Drosophila is a genetic model for memory formation that can be accessed at molecular, synaptic, cellular, and circuit levels, often simultaneously, but existing behavioral assays for larval learning and memory do not address individual animals, and it has been difficult to form long-lasting memories, especially those requiring synaptic reorganization. We demonstrate a new assay for learning and memory capable of tracking the changing preferences of individual larvae. We use this assay to explore how activation of a pair of reward neurons changes the response to the innately aversive gas carbon dioxide (CO2). We confirm that when coupled to CO2 presentation in appropriate temporal sequence, optogenetic reward reduces avoidance of CO2. We find that learning is switch-like: all-or-none and quantized in two states. Memories can be extinguished by repeated unrewarded exposure to CO2 but are stabilized against extinction by repeated training or overnight consolidation. Finally, we demonstrate long-lasting protein synthesis dependent and independent memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Lesar
- Department of Physics, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Javan Tahir
- Department of Physics, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Jason Wolk
- Department of Physics, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Marc Gershow
- Department of Physics, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical CenterNew YorkUnited States
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11
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Ikarashi M, Tanimoto H. Drosophila acquires seconds-scale rhythmic behavior. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:238112. [PMID: 33795422 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Detection of the temporal structure of stimuli is crucial for prediction. While perception of interval timing is relevant for immediate behavioral adaptations, it has scarcely been investigated, especially in invertebrates. Here, we examined whether the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, can acquire rhythmic behavior in the range of seconds. To this end, we developed a novel temporal conditioning paradigm utilizing repeated electric shocks. Combined automatic behavioral annotation and time-frequency analysis revealed that behavioral rhythms continued after cessation of the shocks. Furthermore, we found that aging impaired interval timing. This study thus not only demonstrates the ability of insects to acquire behavioral rhythms of a few seconds, but highlights a life-course decline of temporal coordination, which is also common in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayoshi Ikarashi
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
| | - Hiromu Tanimoto
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
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12
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Weiglein A, Thoener J, Feldbruegge I, Warzog L, Mancini N, Schleyer M, Gerber B. Aversive teaching signals from individual dopamine neurons in larval Drosophila show qualitative differences in their temporal "fingerprint". J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:1553-1570. [PMID: 32965036 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine serves many functions, and dopamine neurons are correspondingly diverse. We use a combination of optogenetics, behavioral experiments, and high-resolution video-tracking to probe for the functional capacities of two single, identified dopamine neurons in larval Drosophila. The DAN-f1 and the DAN-d1 neuron were recently found to carry aversive teaching signals during Pavlovian olfactory learning. We enquire into a fundamental feature of these teaching signals, namely their temporal "fingerprint". That is, receiving punishment feels bad, whereas being relieved from it feels good, and animals and humans alike learn with opposite valence about the occurrence and the termination of punishment (the same principle applies in the appetitive domain, with opposite sign). We find that DAN-f1 but not DAN-d1 can mediate such timing-dependent valence reversal: presenting an odor before DAN-f1 activation leads to learned avoidance of the odor (punishment memory), whereas presenting the odor upon termination of DAN-f1 activation leads to learned approach (relief memory). In contrast, DAN-d1 confers punishment memory only. These effects are further characterized in terms of the impact of the duration of optogenetic activation, the temporal stability of the memories thus established, and the specific microbehavioral patterns of locomotion through which they are expressed. Together with recent findings in the appetitive domain and from adult Drosophila, our results suggest that heterogeneity in the temporal fingerprint of teaching signals might be a more general principle of reinforcement processing through dopamine neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliće Weiglein
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Juliane Thoener
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Irina Feldbruegge
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Louisa Warzog
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Nino Mancini
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michael Schleyer
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Bertram Gerber
- Department of Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
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13
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Gerber B, König C, Fendt M, Andreatta M, Romanos M, Pauli P, Yarali A. Timing-dependent valence reversal: a principle of reinforcement processing and its possible implications. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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14
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Becker MC, Rössler W, Strube-Bloss MF. UV-light perception is modulated by the odour element of an olfactory-visual compound in restrained honeybees. J Exp Biol 2019; 222:jeb.201483. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.201483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Honeybees use visual and olfactory cues to detect flowers during foraging trips. Hence, the reward association of a nectar source is a multimodal construct which has at least two major components – olfactory and visual cues. How both sensory modalities are integrated to form a common reward association and whether and how they may interfere, is an open question. The present study used stimulation with UV, blue and green light to evoke distinct photoreceptor activities in the compound eye and two odour components (Geraniol, Citronellol). To test if a compound of both modalities is perceived as the sum of its elements (elemental processing) or as a unique cue (configural processing) we combined monochromatic light with single odour components in positive (PP) and negative patterning (NP) experiments. During PP, the compound of two modalities was rewarded, whereas the single elements were not. For NP, stimuli comprising a single modality were rewarded, whereas the olfactory-visual compound was not. Furthermore, we compared the differentiation abilities between two light stimuli with and without being part of an olfactory-visual compound. Interestingly, the behavioural performances revealed a prominent case of configural processing, but only in those cases when UV light was an element of an olfactory-visual compound. Instead, learning with green- and blue-containing compounds rather supports elemental processing theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mira C. Becker
- Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martin Fritz Strube-Bloss
- Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
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15
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Slaby P, Bartos P, Karas J, Netusil R, Tomanova K, Vacha M. How Swift Is Cry-Mediated Magnetoreception? Conditioning in an American Cockroach Shows Sub-second Response. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:107. [PMID: 29892217 PMCID: PMC5985609 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Diverse animal species perceive Earth’s magnetism and use their magnetic sense to orientate and navigate. Even non-migrating insects such as fruit flies and cockroaches have been shown to exploit the flavoprotein Cryptochrome (Cry) as a likely magnetic direction sensor; however, the transduction mechanism remains unknown. In order to work as a system to steer insect flight or control locomotion, the magnetic sense must transmit the signal from the receptor cells to the brain at a similar speed to other sensory systems, presumably within hundreds of milliseconds or less. So far, no electrophysiological or behavioral study has tackled the problem of the transduction delay in case of Cry-mediated magnetoreception specifically. Here, using a novel aversive conditioning assay on an American cockroach, we show that magnetic transduction is executed within a sub-second time span. A series of inter-stimulus intervals between conditioned stimuli (magnetic North rotation) and unconditioned aversive stimuli (hot air flow) provides original evidence that Cry-mediated magnetic transduction is sufficiently rapid to mediate insect orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Slaby
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Premysl Bartos
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jakub Karas
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Radek Netusil
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Kateřina Tomanova
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Martin Vacha
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
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16
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König C, Khalili A, Ganesan M, Nishu AP, Garza AP, Niewalda T, Gerber B, Aso Y, Yarali A. Reinforcement signaling of punishment versus relief in fruit flies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 25:247-257. [PMID: 29764970 PMCID: PMC5959229 DOI: 10.1101/lm.047308.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Painful events establish opponent memories: cues that precede pain are remembered negatively, whereas cues that follow pain, thus coinciding with relief are recalled positively. How do individual reinforcement-signaling neurons contribute to this “timing-dependent valence-reversal?” We addressed this question using an optogenetic approach in the fruit fly. Two types of fly dopaminergic neuron, each comprising just one paired cell, indeed established learned avoidance of odors that preceded their photostimulation during training, and learned approach to odors that followed the photostimulation. This is in striking parallel to punishment versus relief memories reinforced by a real noxious event. For only one of these neuron types, both effects were strong enough for further analyses. Notably, interfering with dopamine biosynthesis in these neurons partially impaired the punishing effect, but not the relieving after-effect of their photostimulation. We discuss how this finding constraints existing computational models of punishment versus relief memories and introduce a new model, which also incorporates findings from mammals. Furthermore, whether using dopaminergic neuron photostimulation or a real noxious event, more prolonged punishment led to stronger relief. This parametric feature of relief may also apply to other animals and may explain particular aspects of related behavioral dysfunction in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian König
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Afshin Khalili
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Mathangi Ganesan
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Amrita P Nishu
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Alejandra P Garza
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Thomas Niewalda
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Department Genetics of Learning and Memory, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Bertram Gerber
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Department Genetics of Learning and Memory, Magdeburg 39118, Germany.,Otto von Guericke University, Institute for Biology, Behavioural Genetics, Magdeburg 39118, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
| | - Yoshinori Aso
- HHMI, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, USA
| | - Ayse Yarali
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Magdeburg 39118, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg 39118, Germany
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17
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König C, Antwi-Adjei E, Ganesan M, Kilonzo K, Viswanathan V, Durairaja A, Voigt A, Yarali A. Aversive olfactory associative memory loses odor specificity over time. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 220:1548-1553. [PMID: 28468811 PMCID: PMC5450803 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.155317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Avoiding associatively learned predictors of danger is crucial for survival. Aversive memories can, however, become counter-adaptive when they are overly generalized to harmless cues and contexts. In a fruit fly odor–electric shock associative memory paradigm, we found that learned avoidance lost its specificity for the trained odor and became general to novel odors within a day of training. We discuss the possible neural circuit mechanisms of this effect and highlight the parallelism to over-generalization of learned fear behavior after an incubation period in rodents and humans, with due relevance for post-traumatic stress disorder. Highlighted Article: Associative memories of noxious experiences can become detrimental if overly generalized; fruit fly aversive memories lose their specificity over time, mimicking the situation in rodents and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian König
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Emmanuel Antwi-Adjei
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Mathangi Ganesan
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Kasyoka Kilonzo
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Vignesh Viswanathan
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Archana Durairaja
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anne Voigt
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Ayse Yarali
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany .,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
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18
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Functional architecture of reward learning in mushroom body extrinsic neurons of larval Drosophila. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1104. [PMID: 29549237 PMCID: PMC5856778 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03130-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain adaptively integrates present sensory input, past experience, and options for future action. The insect mushroom body exemplifies how a central brain structure brings about such integration. Here we use a combination of systematic single-cell labeling, connectomics, transgenic silencing, and activation experiments to study the mushroom body at single-cell resolution, focusing on the behavioral architecture of its input and output neurons (MBINs and MBONs), and of the mushroom body intrinsic APL neuron. Our results reveal the identity and morphology of almost all of these 44 neurons in stage 3 Drosophila larvae. Upon an initial screen, functional analyses focusing on the mushroom body medial lobe uncover sparse and specific functions of its dopaminergic MBINs, its MBONs, and of the GABAergic APL neuron across three behavioral tasks, namely odor preference, taste preference, and associative learning between odor and taste. Our results thus provide a cellular-resolution study case of how brains organize behavior.
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19
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Abstract
Taste allows animals to discriminate the value and potential toxicity of food prior to ingestion. Many tastants elicit an innate attractive or avoidance response that is modifiable with nutritional state and prior experience. A powerful genetic tool kit, well-characterized gustatory system, and standardized behavioral assays make the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, an excellent system for investigating taste processing and memory. Recent studies have used this system to identify the neural basis for acquired taste preference. These studies have revealed a role for dopamine-mediated plasticity of the mushroom bodies that modulate the threshold of response to appetitive tastants. The identification of neural circuitry regulating taste memory provides a system to study the genetic and physiological processes that govern plasticity within a defined memory circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Masek
- a Department of Biology , Binghamton University , Binghamton , NY , USA
| | - Alex C Keene
- b Department of Biological Sciences , Florida Atlantic University , Jupiter , FL , USA
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20
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Appel M, Scholz CJ, Kocabey S, Savage S, König C, Yarali A. Independent natural genetic variation of punishment- versus relief-memory. Biol Lett 2017; 12:rsbl.2016.0657. [PMID: 28003518 PMCID: PMC5206585 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A painful event establishes two opponent memories: cues that are associated with pain onset are remembered negatively, whereas cues that coincide with the relief at pain offset acquire positive valence. Such punishment- versus relief-memories are conserved across species, including humans, and the balance between them is critical for adaptive behaviour with respect to pain and trauma. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster as a study case, we found that both punishment- and relief-memories display natural variation across wild-derived inbred strains, but they do not covary, suggesting a considerable level of dissociation in their genetic effectors. This provokes the question whether there may be heritable inter-individual differences in the balance between these opponent memories in man, with potential psycho-clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjam Appel
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Claus-Jürgen Scholz
- Department of Genomics and Immunoregulation, LIMES Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Laboratory for Microarray Applications, IZKF, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Samet Kocabey
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Sinead Savage
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Christian König
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Ayse Yarali
- Research Group Molecular Systems Biology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany .,Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
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21
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Kirkerud NH, Schlegel U, Giovanni Galizia C. Aversive Learning of Colored Lights in Walking Honeybees. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:94. [PMID: 28588460 PMCID: PMC5438982 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The honeybee has been established as an important model organism in studies on visual learning. So far the emphasis has been on appetitive conditioning, simulating floral discrimination, and homing behavior, where bees perform exceptionally well in visual discrimination tasks. However, bees in the wild also face dangers, and recent findings suggest that what is learned about visual percepts is highly context dependent. A stimulus that follows an unpleasant period, is associated with the feeling of relief- or safety in humans and animals, thus acquiring a positive meaning. Whether this is also the case in honeybees is still an open question. Here, we conditioned bees aversively in a walking arena where each half was illuminated by light of a specific wavelength and intensity, one of which was combined with electric shocks. In this paradigm, the bees' preferences to the different lights were modified through nine conditioning trials, forming robust escape, and avoidance behaviors. Strikingly, we found that while 465 nm (human blue) and 590 nm (human yellow) lights both could acquire negative valences (inducing avoidance response), 525 nm (human green) light could not. This indicates that green light holds an innate meaning of safety which is difficult to overrule even through intensive aversive conditioning. The bees had slight initial preferences to green over the blue and the yellow lights, which could be compensated by adjusting light intensity. However, this initial bias played a minor role while the chromatic properties were the most salient characteristics of the light stimuli during aversive conditioning. Moreover, bees could learn the light signaling safety, revealing the existence of a relief component in aversive operant conditioning, similar to what has been observed in other animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas H Kirkerud
- Neurobiology, University of KonstanzKonstanz, Germany.,International Max-Planck Research School for Organismal Biology, University of KonstanzKonstanz, Germany
| | - Ulrike Schlegel
- Neurobiology, University of KonstanzKonstanz, Germany.,Department of Biosciences, University of OsloOslo, Norway
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22
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Salles A, Krawczyk MDC, Blake M, Romano A, Boccia MM, Freudenthal R. Requirement of NF-kappa B Activation in Different Mice Brain Areas during Long-Term Memory Consolidation in Two Contextual One-Trial Tasks with Opposing Valences. Front Mol Neurosci 2017; 10:104. [PMID: 28439227 PMCID: PMC5383659 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2017.00104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
NF-kappa B is a transcription factor whose activation has been shown to be necessary for long-term memory consolidation in several species. NF-kappa B is activated and translocates to the nucleus of cells in a specific temporal window during consolidation. Our work focuses on a one trial learning tasks associated to the inhibitory avoidance (IA) setting. Mice were trained either receiving or not a footshock when entering a dark compartment (aversive vs. appetitive learning). Regardless of training condition (appetitive or aversive), latencies to step-through during testing were significantly different to those measured during training. Additionally, these testing latencies were also different from those of a control group that only received a shock unrelated to context. Moreover, nuclear NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity was augmented in the aversive and the appetitive tasks when compared with control and naïve animals. NF-kappa B inhibition by Sulfasalazine injected either in the Hippocampus, Amygdala or Nucleus accumbens immediately after training was able to impair retention in both training versions. Our results suggest that NF-kappa B is a critical molecular step, in different brain areas on memory consolidation. This was the case for both the IA task and also the modified version of the same task where the footshock was omitted during training. This work aims to further investigate how appetitive and aversive memories are consolidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angeles Salles
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maria Del C Krawczyk
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología de los Procesos de Memoria, Cátedra de Farmacología, Fac. Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires/CONICETBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariano Blake
- Departamento de Fisiología, Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay (IFIBIO), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICETBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Arturo Romano
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariano M Boccia
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología de los Procesos de Memoria, Cátedra de Farmacología, Fac. Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires/CONICETBuenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ramiro Freudenthal
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos AiresBuenos Aires, Argentina
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