Rest Is Required to Learn an Appetitively-Reinforced Operant Task in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Maladaptive operant conditioning contributes to development of neuropsychiatric disorders. Candidate genes have been identified that contribute to this maladaptive plasticity, but the neural basis of operant conditioning in genetic model organisms remains poorly understood. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a versatile genetic model organism that readily forms operant associations with punishment stimuli. However, operant conditioning with a food reward has not been demonstrated in flies, limiting the types of neural circuits that can be studied. Here we present the first sucrose-reinforced operant conditioning paradigm for flies. In the paradigm, flies walk along a Y-shaped track with reward locations at the terminus of each hallway. When flies turn in the reinforced directi

SUBMITTER: Wiggin TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8250850 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature