An integrative sensor of body states: how the mushroom body modulates behavior depending on physiological context.

The brain constantly compares past and present experiences to predict the future, thereby enabling instantaneous and future behavioral adjustments. Integration of external information with the animal's current internal needs and behavioral state represents a key challenge of the nervous system. Recent advancements in dissecting the function of the mushroom body (MB) at the single-cell level have uncovered its three-layered logic and parallel systems conveying positive and negative values during associative learning.

Postsynaptic plasticity of cholinergic synapses underlies the induction and expression of appetitive and familiarity memories in .

In vertebrates, several forms of memory-relevant synaptic plasticity involve postsynaptic rearrangements of glutamate receptors. In contrast, previous work indicates that and other invertebrates store memories using presynaptic plasticity of cholinergic synapses. Here, we provide evidence for postsynaptic plasticity at cholinergic output synapses from the mushroom bodies (MBs).

Localized inhibition in the mushroom body.

Many neurons show compartmentalized activity, in which activity does not spread readily across the cell, allowing input and output to occur locally. However, the functional implications of compartmentalized activity for the wider neural circuit are often unclear. We addressed this problem in the mushroom body, whose principal neurons, Kenyon cells, receive feedback inhibition from a non-spiking interneuron called the anterior paired lateral (APL) neuron.

Network-Specific Synchronization of Electrical Slow-Wave Oscillations Regulates Sleep Drive in Drosophila.

Slow-wave rhythms characteristic of deep sleep oscillate in the delta band (0.5-4 Hz) and can be found across various brain regions in vertebrates. Across phyla, however, an understanding of the mechanisms underlying oscillations and how these link to behavior remains limited.