Formation and retrieval of reward-specific memories

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Bertram Gerber
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology ; Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2016 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 312910282

Memories allow using past experience to predict the future. These predictions need to be simple, instructing fundamental features of behaviour such as approach versus avoidance. Yet, predictive memories should also be as rich as possible to be adaptive: Very different action is warranted when a flood versus a hurricane is imminent. To analyse the circuit principles that confer memory that is thus balanced for simplicity versus complexity also requires a study case simple enough to be experimentally tractable, yet complex enough to be mnemonically capable. We argue that larval Drosophila meet these demands. Specifically, we analyse how odour-reward training establishes memories and learned search behaviour that is specific for the particular quality of the reward.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Timo Saumweber; Dr. Michael Schleyer