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Dopaminergic neurons encode a distributed, asymmetric representation of temperature in Drosophila
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Dopaminergic neurons encode a distributed, asymmetric representation of temperature in Drosophila

The Journal of neuroscience, Vol.33(5), pp.2166-2176
01/30/2013
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3933-12.2013
PMCID: PMC3711641
PMID: 23365252
url
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3933-12.2013View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Dopaminergic circuits modulate a wide variety of innate and learned behaviors in animals, including olfactory associative learning, arousal, and temperature-preference behavior. It is not known whether distinct or overlapping sets of dopaminergic neurons modulate these behaviors. Here, I have functionally characterized the dopaminergic circuits innervating the Drosophila mushroom body with in vivo calcium imaging and conditional silencing of genetically defined subsets of neurons. Distinct subsets of PPL1 dopaminergic neurons innervating the vertical lobes of the mushroom body responded to decreases in temperature, but not increases, with rapidly adapting bursts of activity. PAM neurons innervating the horizontal lobes did not respond to temperature shifts. Ablation of the antennae and maxillary palps reduced, but did not eliminate, the responses. Genetic silencing of dopaminergic neurons innervating the vertical mushroom body lobes substantially reduced behavioral cold avoidance, but silencing smaller subsets of these neurons had no effect. These data demonstrate that overlapping dopaminergic circuits encode a broadly distributed, asymmetric representation of temperature that overlays regions implicated previously in learning, memory, and forgetting. Thus, diverse behaviors engage overlapping sets of dopaminergic neurons that encode multimodal stimuli and innervate a single anatomical target, the mushroom body.
Animals Behavior, Animal - physiology Dopaminergic Neurons - physiology Drosophila Mushroom Bodies - physiology Nerve Net - physiology Smell - physiology Temperature Thermosensing - physiology

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