Roles of OA1 octopamine receptor and Dop1 dopamine receptor in mediating appetitive and aversive reinforcement revealed by RNAi studies.

ABSTRACT: Revealing reinforcing mechanisms in associative learning is important for elucidation of brain mechanisms of behavior. In mammals, dopamine neurons are thought to mediate both appetitive and aversive reinforcement signals. Studies using transgenic fruit-flies suggested that dopamine neurons mediate both appetitive and aversive reinforcements, through the Dop1 dopamine receptor, but our studies using octopamine and dopamine receptor antagonists and using Dop1 knockout crickets suggested that octopamine neurons mediate appetitive reinforcement and dopamine neurons mediate aversive reinforcement in associative learning in crickets. To fully resolve this issue, we examined the effects of silencing of expression of genes that code the OA1 octopamine receptor and Dop1 and Dop2 dopamine receptors

SUBMITTER: Awata H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4944188 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature