Open AccessThe Role of Dopamine in Associative Learning in Drosophila: An Updated Unified Model
Author(s) -
Mohamed Adel,
Leslie C. Griffith
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
neuroscience bulletin/neuroscience bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1673-7067
pISSN - 1995-8218
DOI - 10.1007/s12264-021-00665-0
Subject(s) - associative learning , associative property , content addressable memory , drosophila (subgenus) , neuroscience , cognitive science , function (biology) , dopamine , computer science , cognitive psychology , psychology , biology , artificial intelligence , artificial neural network , evolutionary biology , biochemistry , mathematics , pure mathematics , gene
Learning to associate a positive or negative experience with an unrelated cue after the presentation of a reward or a punishment defines associative learning. The ability to form associative memories has been reported in animal species as complex as humans and as simple as insects and sea slugs. Associative memory has even been reported in tardigrades [1], species that diverged from other animal phyla 500 million years ago. Understanding the mechanisms of memory formation is a fundamental goal of neuroscience research. In this article, we work on resolving the current contradictions between different Drosophila associative memory circuit models and propose an updated version of the circuit model that predicts known memory behaviors that current models do not. Finally, we propose a model for how dopamine may function as a reward prediction error signal in Drosophila, a dopamine function that is well-established in mammals but not in insects [2, 3].