2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Neural mechanisms of olfactory learning in insect 'Microbrain'
| Project/Area Number |
11168201
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Review Section |
Biological Sciences
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| Research Institution | TOHOKU UNIVERSITY (2001-2002)
Hokkaido University (1999-2000) |
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Principal Investigator |
MIZUNAMI Makoto Grad. Sch. Life Sci. Assoc. Prof., 大学院・生命科学研究科, 助教授 (30174030)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2001
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| Keywords | Memory / Learning / Brain / Insect / Olfaction / Motor control / Sensory processing / Sensory map |
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| Research Abstract |
The aim of this study was to reveal functional organization of insect "microbrain" and to reveal neural mechanisms of olfactory learning in insect brain. At first, I invented several olfactory learning paradigms for cockroaches and crickets. These included operant and classical conditioning procedures for individual or groups of insects and they could be used for various analytical perposses. Second, using these behavioral paradigms, we showed that cockroaches and crickets have excellent olfactory learning capability characterized by fast acquisition, long retention, and easy re-writing by re-training. One of my notable finding was that crickets that had been trained in early nymphal stage could retain their olfactory memory for practically a lifetime, and that this long-lasting memory could be easily altered by subsequent re-training. Third, I have attained evidence to suggest that the NO-system in the mushroom body of crickets participates in the formation of long-term olfactory memory. Finally, I examined the distribution of somata and dendrites of descending brain neurons of the cockroach by retrogradely filling their axons from the cervical connective, and showed that there were at least 235 pairs somata of descending neurons. I proposed a model for the basic organization of the cockroach brain, on the basis of the distribution of their dendrites, where the brain consists of a number of parallel sensori-motor pathways many of which are modulated by signals from indirect pathways via higher centers
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Research Products
(12 results)
