Reward signal in a recurrent circuit drives appetitive long-term memory formation.

janelia7_blocks-janelia7_biblio_header | block

eLife. 2015 Nov 18;4. doi: 10.7554/eLife.10719

Reward signal in a recurrent circuit drives appetitive long-term memory formation. Rubin LabAso Lab

Ichinose T, Aso Y, Yamagata N, Abe A, Rubin GM, Tanimoto H

janelia7_blocks-janelia7_biblio_abstract | block

Abstract

Dopamine signals reward in animal brains. A single presentation of a sugar reward to Drosophila activates distinct subsets of dopamine neurons that independently induce short- and long-term olfactory memories (STM and LTM, respectively). In this study, we show that a recurrent reward circuit underlies the formation and consolidation of LTM. This feedback circuit is composed of a single class of reward-signaling dopamine neurons (PAM-α1) projecting to a restricted region of the mushroom body (MB), and a specific MB output cell type, MBON-α1, whose dendrites arborize that same MB compartment. Both MBON-α1 and PAM-α1 neurons are required during the acquisition and consolidation of appetitive LTM. MBON-α1 additionally mediates the retrieval of LTM, which is dependent on the dopamine receptor signaling in the MB α/β neurons. Our results suggest that a reward signal transforms a nascent memory trace into a stable LTM using a feedback circuit at the cost of memory specificity.

node:body | entity_field

Main Menu (Mobile)- Block

Main Menu - Block

Reward signal in a recurrent circuit drives appetitive long-term memory formation.

Abstract

Janelia Authors