13 - Modern questions in learning and memory Flashcards
What famous experiment demonstrates classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s Dogs
What did Pavlov’s experiment entail?
- Conditioning a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell.
- The food was the unconditioned stimulus and the salivation is the unconditioned response.
how do neurons respond to specific odours?
Third order neurons sample second order neurons.
- odour —> olfactory receptor neurons —> Projection neurons.
How do Kenyon cells receive input?
From multiple projection neurons, they require simultaneous inputs to fire.
What are dopanimergic neurons responsible for?
The reward and punishment pathways.
What does the GAL4/UAS system allow?
Allows us to artificially express arbitary transgenes in specific cells
What does the split GAL4 system allow?
For even greater specificity in which cells express our transgene
What is the mushroom body made up of?
Kenyon cells whose axons are subdivided into compartments by innervation of dopaminergic neurons (DANs).
What do some mushroom body neurones (MBON’s) lead to?
Approach and avoidance behaviour when activated optogenetically
What happens when dopaminergic neurons (DAN’s) are activated optogenetically?
They can entrain aversive or appetitive memory
What happens when dopaminergic neurons (DAN’s) are activated optogenetically?
They can entrain aversive or appetitive memory
What happens to the flies if the shock preceeds the odour in learning?
The flies learn backward. The fly then perceives the odours the reward/end of punishment.
What does forward pairing do to the KC-MBON synapses?
It depresses them
