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

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...