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In Drosophila, formation of aversive olfactory long-term memory (LTM) requires multiple training sessions pairing odor and electric shock punishment with rest intervals. In contrast, here we show that a single 2 min training session pairing odor with a more ethologically relevant sugar reinforcement forms long-term appetitive memory that lasts for days. Appetitive LTM has some mechanistic similarity to aversive LTM in that it can be disrupted by cycloheximide, the dCreb2-b transcriptional repressor, and the crammer and tequila LTM-specific mutations. However, appetitive LTM is completely disrupted by the radish mutation that apparently represents a distinct mechanistic phase of consolidated aversive memory. Furthermore, appetitive LTM requires activity in the dorsal paired medial neuron and mushroom body alpha'beta' neuron circuit during the first hour after training and mushroom body alphabeta neuron output during retrieval, suggesting that appetitive middle-term memory and LTM are mechanistically linked. Last, experiments feeding and/or starving flies after training reveals a critical motivational drive that enables appetitive LTM retrieval.

Original publication

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5333-07.2008

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurosci

Publication Date

19/03/2008

Volume

28

Pages

3103 - 3113

Keywords

Action Potentials, Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified, Appetitive Behavior, Behavior, Animal, Conditioning, Classical, Cyclic AMP, Cycloheximide, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins, Food Deprivation, Memory, Mushroom Bodies, Mutation, Neurons, Odorants, Protein Biosynthesis, Protein Synthesis Inhibitors, Raphanus, Temperature, Time Factors