Project Details
Projekt Print View

Octopamine function revisited: Reward processing in Drosophila larvae

Subject Area Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Term from 2019 to 2023
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426722269
 
Final Report Year 2024

Final Report Abstract

Octopamine and tyramine are known to impact on various aspects of an insect´s life. They function as neurotransmitters/-hormones and shift the organism from a relaxed state to a responsive, exited, and alerted state, which appears functionally homologous to the noradrenergic/adrenergic system of vertebrates. To do so, released octopamine/tyramine modulate muscle performance, glycogenolysis, fat metabolism, heart rate, and respiration. In addition, (in particular) octopamine also appears to fundamentally impact on learning and memory. About 20 years ago, initial work demonstrated that dopaminergic neurons signal punishment and octopaminergic neurons signal reward during olfactory associative conditioning in Drosophila. In the meantime, however, it has become clear that dopaminergic neurons mediate both reward and punishment signals to the mushroom bodies. This seems to somehow overturn the previous functionally separated model and limits the function of octopaminergic neurons as teaching neurons during conditioning. We therefore focused on a detailed description of octopamine in larval memory processes. By a synergistic use of behavioural studies, functional Ca2+ imaging, loss-of-function (RNA interference of specific receptors) and gain-of-function (optogenetics) approaches we show that octopamine is necessary for larval odour-reward memories through the specific modulation of dopaminergic neurons of the pPAM cluster.

Publications

 
 

Additional Information

Textvergrößerung und Kontrastanpassung