Article
Biology
Elise C. Croteau-Chonka, Michael S. Clayton, Lalanti Venkatasubramanian, Samuel N. Harris, Benjamin M. W. Jones, Lakshmi Narayan, Michael Winding, Jean-Baptiste Masson, Marta Zlatic, Kristina T. Klein
Summary: This study developed a high-throughput training system and demonstrated classical conditioning and operant conditioning in Drosophila larvae for the first time. The results expand our understanding of the associative learning abilities of Drosophila larvae and provide a platform for studying different forms of associative learning and the underlying neural circuits.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuxuan Zhao, Yi Zeng, Guang Qiao
Summary: Classical conditioning plays a critical role in the learning process of biological brains, and our brain-inspired BICC model can replicate a broader set of findings and offer better computational explainability for both the experimental phenomena and the biological mechanisms of classical conditioning.
Article
Biology
Daichi Yamada, Daniel Bushey, Feng Li, Karen L. Hibbard, Megan Sammons, Jan Funke, Ashok Litwin-Kumar, Toshihide Hige, Yoshinori Aso
Summary: Dopaminergic neurons with distinct properties form memory subsystems in the brain. A feedforward circuit has been identified between dopamine subsystems, which plays a crucial role in second-order conditioning. The hierarchical connections between these subsystems explain the different properties of first- and second-order memory.
Article
Biology
Haleh Fotowat, Florian Engert
Summary: Larval zebrafish exposed repeatedly to dark looming stimuli habituate to these signals and stop responding with escape swims. These stimuli can be separated into spatial expansion and overall dimming, each with their own behavioral algorithms. Brain imaging experiments suggest the existence of two separate neural pathways, one for expansion detection and escape, and another for dimming inhibition of escape response. The second pathway is contextually modulated and responsible for the silencing of successive escape responses.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Chao Yang, Xiaoping Wang, Zhanfei Chen, Zilu Wang, Sen Zhang, Zhigang Zeng
Summary: This work proposes a bio-inspired decision-making memristive circuit drawing on Hull's secondary learning system. The circuit can mimic decision-making processes initiated by secondary drive stimuli and shaped by secondary reinforcers through classical conditioning and operant conditioning. It also considers factors influencing decision-making, such as demand states, incentive motivation, and habit strength. The proposed circuit includes modules for classical conditioning, drive regulation, habit memory, incentive generation, and winner-takes-all, designed using a modular hierarchical circuit design method. The circuit utilizes memristors to perform brain-like online learning in an in-memory computing manner, providing power and area advantages. PSPICE-based simulations demonstrate the circuit's strong adaptive decision-making ability, making it applicable to bionic intelligent robots for complex tasks like detection and rescue.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUTOMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biology
Juan Martinez-Cervantes, Prachi Shah, Anna Phan, Isaac Cervantes-Sandoval, Sonia Sen
Summary: This study reports the sensory preconditioning in fruit flies and the mechanisms that regulate this process. The results show that fruit flies can infer value to olfactory stimuli based on previous associations between odors, and that inhibition of a specific regulator can lengthen the time window of the olfactory 'sensory buffer', allowing the establishment of associations between sequentially presented odors.
Article
Neurosciences
Yuto Momohara, Curtis L. Neveu, Hsin-Mei Chen, Douglas A. Baxter, John H. Byrne
Summary: In this study, the researchers used an in vitro analog of operant conditioning (OC) to investigate the effects of OC on the excitability of the inhibitory neuron B4 and its inhibitory connection to the decision-making neuron B51 in a feeding neural circuit. They found that OC decreased the excitability of B4 and weakened its inhibitory connection to B51. These changes were specific and did not affect other neurons critical for feeding behavior. Additionally, the researchers demonstrated that reducing the B4-to-B51 synapse or increasing B51 excitability mediated the OC phenotype more effectively than decreasing B4 excitability alone. Furthermore, they found that combinations of these modifications synergistically enhanced feeding behavior. These results suggest that diverse loci work together to mediate OC and that certain neurons are well suited to work synergistically with plasticity in other loci.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Chao Yang, Xiaoping Wang, Zhanfei Chen, Sen Zhang, Zhigang Zeng
Summary: This article proposes an OC-CC cascaded circuit that simulates biological learning and adaptation capabilities. By using OC and CC circuits, the circuit achieves bio-like functions and can perform online learning and computing. The simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the circuit in power consumption and hardware overhead, providing a feasible approach for large-scale bionic learning.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Md Zeeshan Ali, Anushree Anushree, Anwar L. Bilgrami, Aarif Ahsan, Mohammad Shamsul Ola, Rizwanul Haque, Jawaid Ahsan
Summary: Phenylacetaldehyde (PAH), an aromatic odorant, serves as an important food and courtship cue for adult fruit flies. Our study found that larvae are attracted to PAH in a dose-dependent manner and can be trained with PAH as a marker for positive and negative reinforcement. Unlike adult flies, larvae primarily sense PAH through odorant receptors. This study provides valuable insights into how larvae perceive and process PAH odorant at the neural level.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Julia C. Notar, Madeline C. Go, Sonke Johnsen
Summary: This study demonstrates that brittle stars, which lack a centralized nervous system, are capable of classical conditioning by associating a period of darkness with a food reward.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Kyoung-Doo Hwang, Sang Jeong Kim, Yong-Seok Lee
Summary: The cerebellum plays a critical role in modulating fear memory network and prediction, with involvement at the cellular and synaptic levels. Understanding the contributions of distinct cerebellar structures to fear learning and memory may lead to more effective treatment strategies for fear-related affective disorders.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Dermatology
Joseph S. Blythe, Kaya J. Peerdeman, Dieuwke S. Veldhuijzen, Myrthe M. E. van Schothorst, Mia A. Thomaidou, Antoinette I. M. van Laarhoven, Andrea W. M. Evers
Summary: This study investigated the learning processes underlying nocebo effects on itch through classical conditioning and observational learning experiments. Results showed that learning through direct experiences can induce significant nocebo effects on itch, while observational learning had a weaker effect.
ACTA DERMATO-VENEREOLOGICA
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Jinglin Wu, Xiaoxiao Ji, Qiuxiang Gu, Buxin Liao, Wei Dong, Junhai Han
Summary: The study demonstrates that synaptic ACh signaling from amacrine cells and L4 neurons facilitates rapid repolarization of L1 and L2 neurons in fruit flies, maintaining the essential optomotor response to high-frequency light stimulation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stefan P. Ewers, Timo M. Dreier, Siham Al-Bas, Peter Schwenkreis, Burkhard Pleger
Summary: This proof-of-concept study investigated the possibility of applying the influence of TMS on cortical excitability to classical conditioning. The results showed significant enhancement of motor evoked potentials paired with the conditioned tone compared to the control tone, indicating successful conditioning through TMS.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Beatriz Pino-Jimenez, Panagiotis Giannios, Jordi Casanova
Summary: This study investigates the association between polyploidy and autophagy, finding that higher endoreplication status is correlated with increased autophagy. The researchers also demonstrate that autophagy mediates tissue histolysis and triggers apoptosis of polyploid cells in the Drosophila larval respiratory system.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Benita Bruenner, Juliane Saumweber, Merve Samur, Denise Weber, Isabell Schumann, Deepthi Mahishi, Astrid Rohwedder, Andreas S. Thum
JOURNAL OF NEUROGENETICS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ilenia Meloni, Divya Sachidanandan, Andreas S. Thum, Robert J. Kittel, Caroline Murawski
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jules Duruz, Cyrielle Kaltenrieder, Peter Ladurner, Remy Bruggmann, Pedro Martinez, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: By utilizing whole-body single-cell transcriptomics on the acoel Isodiametra pulchra, researchers identified ten major cell type categories contributing to main biological functions, as well as a large number of clade-specific marker genes, indicating the emergence of clade-specific common molecular machineries functioning in distinct cell types. These results offer novel insights into the evolution of bilaterian cell types.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chang Zhao, Yves F. Widmer, Soeren Diegelmann, Mihai A. Petrovici, Simon G. Sprecher, Walter Senn
Summary: Olfactory learning and conditioning in fruit flies are often modelled using correlation-based associative synaptic plasticity. The connections from Kenyon cells to mushroom body output neurons play a key role in conditioning odor-evoked responses by shocks. Different models are proposed to explain how predictions of aversive or appetitive values of odors are formed on a circuit level, including error-driven predictive plasticity and target-driven predictive plasticity in dopaminergic neurons. These models provide a framework for understanding MBON circuits and interpreting DAN activity during olfactory learning.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dennis Pauls, Mareike Selcho, Johanna Raederscheidt, Kelechi M. Amatobi, Agnes Fekete, Markus Krischke, Christiane Hermann-Luibl, Ayten Gizem Ozbek-Unal, Nadine Ehmann, Pavel M. Itskov, Robert J. Kittel, Charlotte Helfrich-Foerster, Ronald P. Kuehnlein, Martin J. Mueller, Christian Wegener
Summary: Animals need to balance competitive behaviors to maintain internal homeostasis, which typically involves neuroendocrine signaling. In this study using Drosophila, it was found that AKH signals via two divergent pathways to balance activity levels under ad libitum access to food, with one pathway increasing activity during the day through the octopaminergic system, and the other preventing high activity levels during the night by signaling to the fat body. This regulation also involves feedback signaling from octopaminergic neurons to AKH-producing cells.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Isabell Schumann, Michael Berger, Nadine Nowag, Yannick Schaefer, Juliane Saumweber, Henrike Scholz, Andreas S. Thum
Summary: Chemosensory signals play crucial roles in guiding vertebrates and invertebrates towards optimal food sources while avoiding harmful substances. Ethanol, a substance naturally found in the environment of Drosophila melanogaster, influences the behavior and fitness of larvae. Moderate ethanol concentrations enhance larval fitness, while higher concentrations result in increased mortality. Ethanol also serves as a positive teaching signal in learning and memory processes. Limited understanding of how larvae perceive and process ethanol at the genetic and neuronal level points to the importance of standardized assays described in this study.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Cornelia Fritsch, Roumen Voutev, Richard S. Mann, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: Visual perception is mediated by specialized photoreceptor neurons of the eye, each expressing photosensitive opsins sensitive to specific wavelengths of light. The study has shown that Homothorax controls a binary Rhodopsin switch in the ocelli of fruit flies to regulate the expression of Rhodopsin 2 and 1. The presence of conserved Hth binding sites in the promoter region of rhodopsin 1 and rhodopsin 2 between different Drosophila species suggests a critical role of Hth in evolution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luis Hernandez-Nunez, Alicia Chen, Gonzalo Budelli, Matthew E. Berck, Vincent Richter, Anna Rist, Andreas S. Thum, Albert Cardona, Mason Klein, Paul Garrity, Aravinthan D. T. Samuel
Summary: This study reveals the interaction between warming cells and cooling cells in larval Drosophila, which is crucial for maintaining thermal homeostasis. The integration of warming and cooling pathways through ionotropic receptors allows for the flexible regulation of body temperature set point. The cross-inhibition computation between warming and cooling cells orchestrates homeostatic thermoregulation in larvae.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nikita Komarov, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: This review provides an overview of the model organism, Drosophila larva, and its chemosensory system, focusing on the anatomy, genetic components, and processing logic of chemical cues. The article outlines recent advancements and hypothesized neural circuits, and highlights unanswered questions for further investigation of chemosensation in Drosophila and other species.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jenifer C. Kaldun, Shahnaz R. Lone, Ana M. Humbert Camps, Cornelia Fritsch, Yves F. Widmer, Jens Stein, Seth M. Tomchik, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: Alzheimer's Disease is a major cause of age-related dementia and neurodegeneration, and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Research has shown that reducing neuronal excitability or inhibiting the forgetting pathway linked to toxic A beta peptides can ameliorate memory defects. This study provides a functional framework connecting forgetting signaling and sleep, showing promise for modulating forgetting behaviors in Alzheimer's Disease.
Review
Neurosciences
Noemi Sgammeglia, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: Regulating energy metabolism is critical for maintaining cellular and systemic functions. The mushroom bodies in the brain, as a regulatory center, play a significant role in integrating metabolic cues and impacting learned behavior.
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Jules Duruz, Marta Sprecher, Jenifer C. Kaldun, Al-Sayed Al-Soudy, Heidi E. L. Lischer, Geert van Geest, Pamela Nicholson, Remy Bruggmann, Simon G. Sprecher, Sonia Sen
Summary: Cephalopods, such as the European squid Loligo vulgaris, possess advanced behavior and complex nervous systems. By using single-cell transcriptomics and in situ gene expression analysis, this study uncovers the diversity of cell types in cephalopods, including conserved cells like neurons and muscles, as well as cephalopod-specific cells like chromatophores and sucker cells. The research also investigates the squid nervous system, providing a molecular assessment and framework for mapping the nervous system of L. vulgaris.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gaelle Botton-Amiot, Pedro Martinez, Simon G. Sprecher
Summary: Sea anemones without centralized nervous systems can still form associative memories, as shown by their conditioned response to light and electric shock. These findings shed light on cnidarian behavior and raise fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of cognition in brainless animals.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Noemi P. Sgammeglia, Yves Widmer, Jenifer P. Kaldun, Cornelia Fritsch, Remy P. Bruggmann, Simon Sprecher
Summary: Using a Dam::CREB fusion protein, the authors identified differentially expressed genes in the mushroom body one day and two days after appetitive olfactory conditioning. They found candidate genes that cause memory enhancement and genes that cause memory suppression. This study reveals potential new regulators of memory formation and maintenance.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthew Goulty, Gaelle Botton-Amiot, Ezio Rosato, Simon G. Sprecher, Roberto Feuda
Summary: This study investigates the origin of the monoaminergic system using a phylogenomic approach and finds that most of the genes involved in monoamine production, modulation, and reception originated in the bilaterian stem group. This suggests that the monoaminergic system is a bilaterian novelty and its evolution may have contributed to the Cambrian diversification.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)