Neural circuits that distinguish memory processes in the fly brain

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14307
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Tanimoto Hiromu 東北大学, 生命科学研究科, 教授 (70714955)
• Research Collaborator: YAMAGATA Nobuhiro 東北大学, 大学院生命科学研究科, 助教 (50716248) ; ICHINOSE Toshiharu 東北大学, 生命科学研究科, 研究支援者 (20774748)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 神経情報処理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster bidirectionally adapt the response to an odor based on appetitive and aversive memories of sugar reward and electric shock punishment, respectively. Accumulating evidence suggest that the output from a brain structure called the mushroom body (MB) is necessary for acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of appetitive and aversive memories. However, it is largely unclear how the common MB circuit operates these distinct memory processes. To comprehensively characterize the organization of the MB output, we anatomically identified all the MB output neuron types in Drosophila. By measuring the behavioral importance of each output pathway, we found that the different sets of the MB output neurons are recruited in appetitive and aversive memories. Furthermore, our comprehensive behavioral analysis revealed acquisition, consolidation and retrieval of memories are characterized by the combinatorial functions of MB output neurons.

Free Research Field

神経行動学