title: Two pairs of mushroom body efferent neurons are required for appetitive long-term memory retrieval in Drosophila.
abstract: One of the challenges facing memory research is to combine network- and cellular-level descriptions of memory encoding. In this context, Drosophila offers the opportunity to decipher, down to single-cell resolution, memory-relevant circuits in connection with the mushroom bodies (MBs), prominent structures for olfactory learning and memory. Although the MB-afferent circuits involved in appetitive learning were recently described, the circuits underlying appetitive memory retrieval remain unknown. We identified two pairs of cholinergic neurons efferent from the MB α vertical lobes, named MB-V3, that are necessary for the retrieval of appetitive long-term memory (LTM). Furthermore, LTM retrieval was correlated to an enhanced response to the rewarded odor in these neurons. Strikingly, though, silencing the MB-V3 neurons did not affect short-term memory (STM) retrieval. This finding supports a scheme of parallel appetitive STM and LTM processing.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Dynamics of Memory Systems, Neurobiology Unit, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Pierre-Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Plaçais
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trannoy
authors.forename: Anja B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Preat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D009476:Neurons, Efferent / Q000502:physiology*