Université de Fribourg

Visual learning in individually assayed Drosophila larvae

Gerber, Bertram ; Scherer, Sabine ; Neuser, K. ; Michels, B. ; Hendel, T. ; Stocker, Reinhard F. ; Heisenberg, M.

In: Journal of Experimental Biology, 2004, vol. 207, p. 179-188

An understanding of associative learning is facilitated if it can be analyzed in a simple animal like the fruit fly Drosophila. Here, we introduce the first visual associative learning paradigm for larval Drosophila; this is remarkable as larvae have an order of magnitude fewer neurons than adult flies. Larvae were subjected to either of two reciprocal training regimes: Light+/Dark- or...

Université de Fribourg

Role of proneural genes in the formation of the larval olfactory organ of Drosophila

Grillenzoni, Nicola ; Vaux, Véronique de ; Meuwly, Jocelyne ; Vuichard, Séverine ; Jarman, Andrew ; Holohan, Eimear ; Gendre, Nanaë ; Stocker, Reinhard F.

In: Development Genes and Evolution, 2007, vol. 217, no. 3, p. 209-219

In this paper, we address the role of proneural genes in the formation of the dorsal organ in the Drosophila larva. This organ is an intricate compound comprising the multineuronal dome—the exclusive larval olfactory organ—and a number of mostly gustatory sensilla. We first determine the numbers of neurons and of the different types of accessory cells in the dorsal organ. From...

Université de Fribourg

The olfactory pathway of adult and larval Drosophila: conservation or adaptation to stage-specific needs ?

Stocker, Reinhard F.

In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2009, vol. 1170, p. 482 - 486

Tracing of olfactory projections based on odorant receptor expression has led to an almost complete receptor-to-glomerulus map in adult Drosophila. While most of the glomeruli may be involved in processing of food odors, others appear to be more specialized, for example, responding to CO₂ or to pheromonal cues. Recent studies have shed light on signal processing in the antennal lobe and in...

Université de Fribourg

Diversity, variability, and suboesophageal connectivity of antennal lobe neurons in D. melanogaster larvae

Thum, Andreas S. ; Leisibach, Basil ; Gendre, Nanaë ; Selcho, Mareike ; Stocker, Reinhard F.

In: The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2011, vol. 59, no. 17, p. 3415–3432

Whereas the “vertical” elements of the insect olfactory pathway, the olfactory receptor neurons and the projection neurons, have been studied in great detail, local interneurons providing “horizontal” connections in the antennal lobe were ignored for a long time. Recent studies in adult Drosophila demonstrate diverse roles for these neurons in the integration of odor information,...