Asymmetric neurons are necessary for olfactory learning in the Drosophila brain.

Animals have complementary parallel memory systems that process signals from various sensory modalities. In the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, mushroom body (MB) circuitry is the primary associative neuropil, critical for all stages of olfactory memory. Here, our findings suggest that active signaling from specific asymmetric body (AB) neurons is also crucial for this process.

A subset of cholinergic mushroom body neurons blocks long-term memory formation in Drosophila.

Long-term memory (LTM) requires learning-induced synthesis of new proteins allocated to specific neurons and synapses in a neural circuit. Not all learned information, however, becomes permanent memory. How the brain gates relevant information into LTM remains unclear.

Neuropeptide F inhibits dopamine neuron interference of long-term memory consolidation in .

Long-term memory (LTM) formation requires consolidation processes to overcome interfering signals that erode memory formation. Olfactory memory in involves convergent projection neuron (PN; odor) and dopaminergic neuron (DAN; reinforcement) input to the mushroom body (MB). How post-training DAN activity in the posterior lateral protocerebrum (PPL1) continues to regulate memory consolidation remains unknown.

Rapid single-wavelength lightsheet localization microscopy for clarified tissue.

Optical super-resolution microscopy allows nanoscale imaging of protein molecules in intact biological tissues. However, it is still challenging to perform large volume super-resolution imaging for entire animal organs. Here we develop a single-wavelength Bessel lightsheet method, optimized for refractive-index matching with clarified specimens to overcome the aberrations encountered in imaging thick tissues.

Millisecond two-photon optical ribbon imaging for small-animal functional connectome study.

We developed a high-speed two-photon optical ribbon imaging system, which combines galvo-mirrors for an arbitrary curve scan on a lateral plane and a tunable acoustic gradient-index lens for a 100 kHz-1 MHz axial scan. The system provides micrometer/millisecond spatiotemporal resolutions, which enable continuous readout of functional dynamics from small and densely packed neurons in a living adult Drosophila brain. Compared to sparse sampling techniques, the ribbon imaging modality avoids motion artifacts.

Long-term memory requires sequential protein synthesis in three subsets of mushroom body output neurons in Drosophila.

Creating long-term memory (LTM) requires new protein synthesis to stabilize learning-induced synaptic changes in the brain. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, aversive olfactory learning forms several phases of labile memory to associate an odor with coincident punishment in the mushroom body (MB). It remains unclear how the brain consolidates early labile memory into LTM.

IL-33 mediates the expressions of IL-5 and IL-13 in Angiostrongylus cantonensis-infected mice.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the major cause of human eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. C57BL/6 mice were experimentally infected with 35 infectious larvae. Two groups of infected mice received intraperitoneal injections of mouse IL-33 (1μg) or anti-IL-33 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (10μg) 3days post infection (dpi) and subsequent booster shots of the same dose at 5day intervals.

Brief spatial experiences increase granule cell survival in the dentate gyrus of adult rats.

Rats of two experimental groups were placed in an open-field apparatus for 3-5 spatial exploration, each placement lasting 5min (total duration of 15-25min), and had a significantly greater newborn-neuron survival rate of the granule cells than the control group by evaluating the density of 5-bromo-2'deoxyuridine positive cells in the dentate gyrus. This study suggests that brief spatial experiences are sufficient to enhance the survival rate of newborn neurons.

Anti-CCR3 monoclonal antibody inhibits eosinophil infiltration in Angiostrongylus cantonensis-infected ICR mice.

ICR mice were each infected with 35 Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae. One group of mice received an intraperitoneal injection of anti-CCR3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (50 microg) at 10 days post-infection (dpi), while another similarly-treated group also received a booster injection (25 microg) at 12 dpi. All the mice were sacrificed at 14 dpi for pathological examination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis and RNA extraction.