Neural mechanism of olfactory habituation in Drosophila pheromone sensing

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K06329
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 44050:Animal physiological chemistry, physiology and behavioral biology-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Ejima Aki 東京大学, 定量生命科学研究所, 協力研究員 (00548571)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 神経可塑性 / フェロモン / 嗅覚 / 馴化 / ショウジョウバエ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

If you continue to smell a certain scent, you will soon lose the scent. This is one of the habituation phenomena in the sensory nervous system, and it is considered that it has a function of making it easier to detect a new stimulus by making it difficult to perceive a constant stimulus. In this study, we elucidated the neural mechanism that controls odor acclimation, using the pheromone response of Drosophila melanogaster, which has a relatively simple brain structure, as a model.

Free Research Field

神経生物

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により見出された性特異性をもつ嗅覚二次神経は、神経中枢において嗅覚だけでなく味覚や聴覚刺激など入力信号のANDゲートとして働くことが明らかになったことから、馴化機能と動物の「パターン行動」の順序を決める信号強化の関係を理解する基盤となると期待される。