In: Developmental Biology, 2015, vol. 405, no. 2, p. 202–213
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In: Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2013, vol. 7, p. 105
The remarkable ability of the nervous system to modify its structure and function is mostly experience and activity modulated. The molecular basis of neuronal plasticity has been studied in higher behavioral processes, such as learning and memory formation. However, neuronal plasticity is not restricted to higher brain functions and it may provide a basic feature of adaptation of all neural...
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In: Neural Development, 2012, vol. 7, p. 14
In Drosophila, most neurogenetic research is carried out in vivo. Mammalian research demonstrates that primary cell culture techniques provide a powerful model to address cell autonomous and non-autonomous processes outside their endogenous environment. We developed a cell culture system in Drosophila using wildtype and genetically manipulated primary neural tissue for long-term observations. We...
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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,...
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In: Developmental Biology, 2011, p. -
The task of the visual system is to translate light into neuronal encoded information. This translation of photons into neuronal signals is achieved by photoreceptor neurons (PRs), specialized sensory neurons, located in the eye. Upon perception of light the PRs will send a signal to target neurons, which represent a first station of visual processing. Increasing complexity of visual processing...
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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...
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In: Evolution, 2007, vol. 61, no. 8, p. 1980–1991
Trade-offs between reproduction and life span are ubiquitous, but little is known about their underlying mechanisms. Here we combine treatment with the juvenile hormone analog (JHa) methoprene and experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to study the potential role of juvenile hormone (JH) in mediating such trade-offs at both the physiological and evolutionary level. Exposure to...
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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...
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In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2006, vol. 19, no. 4, p. 1359-1363
Learning ability and immunity to parasites are linked at the physiological level in several insect species. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between learning and immunity at an evolutionary level. We tested whether selection for improved learning ability in Drosophila melanogaster led to changes in parasitoid resistance as a correlated response. Similarly, we assayed...
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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...
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