Short- and Long-Term Memory in Drosophila Require cAMP Signaling in Distinct Neuron Types

Blum, A. L., Li, W., Cressy, M., Dubnau, J. T. (August 2009) Short- and Long-Term Memory in Drosophila Require cAMP Signaling in Distinct Neuron Types. Current Biology, 19 (16). 1341-1350 . ISSN 0960-9822

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A common feature of memory and its underlying synaptic plasticity is that each can be dissected into short-lived forms involving modification or trafficking of existing proteins and long-term forms that require new gene expression. An underlying assumption of this cellular view of memory consolidation is that these different mechanisms occur within a single neuron. At the neuroanatomical level, however, different temporal stages of memory can engage distinct neural circuits, a notion that has not been conceptually integrated with the cellular view. RESULTS: Here, we investigated this issue in the context of aversive Pavlovian olfactory memory in Drosophila. Previous studies have demonstrated a central role for cAMP signaling in the mushroom body (MB). The Ca(2+)-responsive adenylyl cyclase RUTABAGA is believed to be a coincidence detector in gamma neurons, one of the three principle classes of MB Kenyon cells. We were able to separately restore short-term or long-term memory to a rutabaga mutant with expression of rutabaga in different subsets of MB neurons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a model in which the learning experience initiates two parallel associations: a short-lived trace in MB gamma neurons, and a long-lived trace in alpha/beta neurons.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organism description > animal > insect > Drosophila
organism description > animal behavior > memory
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > mushroom body
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Dubnau lab
School of Biological Sciences > Publications
Depositing User: Brian Soldo
Date: 25 August 2009
Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2012 18:58
Last Modified: 22 Sep 2014 16:53
PMCID: PMC2752374
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/25411

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