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The differential requirement of mushroom body α/β subdivisions in long-term memory retrieval in Drosophila

Protein & Cell volume 4, pages 512–519 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

The mushroom body (MB), a bilateral brain structure possessing about 2000–2500 neurons per hemisphere, plays a central role in olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila melanogaster. Extensive studies have demonstrated that three major types of MB neurons (α/β, α′/β′ and Γ) exhibit distinct functions in memory processing, including the critical role of approximately 1000 MB α/β neurons in retrieving long-term memory. Inspired by recent findings that MB α/β neurons can be further divided into three subdivisions (surface, posterior and core) and wherein the α/β core neurons play an permissive role in long-term memory consolidation, we examined the functional differences of all the three morphological subdivisions of MB α/β by temporally precise manipulation of their synaptic outputs during long-term memory retrieval. We found the normal neurotransmission from a combination of MB α/β surface and posterior neurons is necessary for retrieving both aversive and appetitive long-term memory, whereas output from MB α/β posterior or core subdivision alone is dispensable. These results imply a specific requirement of about 500 MB α/β neurons in supporting long-term memory retrieval and a further functional partitioning for memory processing within the MB α/β region.

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Author notes

  1. Cheng Huang

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

  2. Pengzhi Wang

    Present address: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Cheng Huang, Pengzhi Wang, Zhiyong Xie, Lianzhang Wang & Yi Zhong

  2. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 11724, USA

    Yi Zhong

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  1. Cheng Huang
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  2. Pengzhi Wang
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  3. Zhiyong Xie
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  4. Lianzhang Wang
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  5. Yi Zhong
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Correspondence to Yi Zhong.

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Huang, C., Wang, P., Xie, Z. et al. The differential requirement of mushroom body α/β subdivisions in long-term memory retrieval in Drosophila. Protein Cell 4, 512–519 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-013-3035-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-013-3035-8

Keywords

  • memory retrieval
  • neural circuits
  • aversive olfactory conditioning
  • appetitive olfactory conditioning
  • mushroom body