Modern questions in learning and memory

Question 1

what is plasticity

Answer 1

the ability of neurons to change in form and function in response to alterations in their environment.

Question 2

the three types of stimulus in pavlovs dog experiments

Answer 2

unconditioned - food
(innately rewarding)
neutral - the bell initially
conditioned - what the bell becomes

Question 3

olfactory classical conditioning: commonly used methods for testing

Answer 3

expose fly to different odours and pair them with either sugar coating or an electric shock

then track the movement of the fly when given different odours again

will go to odour where they received reward (sugar)

Question 4

Describe the basic neural circuitry underlying olfactory memory in flies

Answer 4

each kenyon cell receives input from many different projection neurones

require more than 1 site to be activated, above threshold

diff kenyon cell activated by different odours

Question 5

what is GAL4

Answer 5

a transcription factor in yeast

Question 6

what is the basic GAL4 mechanism when inserted into drosophilia

Answer 6

GAL4 put not fly attached to an enhancer

GAL4 binds to upstream activating facotr UAS

recruits RNA polymerase and transcription of gene occurs

Question 7

what is UAS

Answer 7

upstream activating factor - can be used to drive GFP or knockdown

Question 8

how do you create GAL4 split lines

Answer 8

split GAL4 into 2 parts: GAL4DBD and Activating domain

only in cells where both promoters are active will have both the parts

causes expression of the UAS transgene

Question 9

what a re kenyon cells axons subdivided into

Answer 9

mushroom body output neurones (MBONS)

dopiminergic neurones (DANs )

both match in 1:1

Question 10

if yo give the shock before the stimulus….

Answer 10

good as it signals the end of the shock so fly will approach