Regulation of long-term memory by a few clock neurons in .

Identification of the neural circuits in the brain regulating animal behavior and physiology is critical for understanding brain functions and is one of the most challenging goals in neuroscience research. The fruitfly has often been used to identify the neural circuits involved in the regulation of specific behaviors because of the many neurogenetic tools available to express target genes in particular neurons. Neurons controlling sexual behavior, feeding behavior, and circadian rhythms have been identified, and the number of neurons responsible for controlling these phenomena is small.

Dorsal-lateral clock neurons modulate consolidation and maintenance of long-term memory in Drosophila.

A newly formed memory is initially unstable. However, if it is consolidated into the brain, the consolidated memory is stored as stable long-term memory (LTM). Despite the recent progress, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of LTM have not yet been fully elucidated.

Consolidation and maintenance of long-term memory involve dual functions of the developmental regulator Apterous in clock neurons and mushroom bodies in the Drosophila brain.

Memory is initially labile but can be consolidated into stable long-term memory (LTM) that is stored in the brain for extended periods. Despite recent progress, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the intriguing neurobiological processes of LTM remain incompletely understood. Using the Drosophila courtship conditioning assay as a memory paradigm, here, we show that the LIM homeodomain (LIM-HD) transcription factor Apterous (Ap), which is known to regulate various developmental events, is required for both the consolidation and maintenance of LTM.

Aromatic Metamorphosis of Dibenzofurans into Triphenylenes Starting with Nickel-Catalyzed Ring-Opening C-O Arylation.

A new class of aromatic metamorphosis has been developed in which dibenzofurans were converted into triphenylenes. This transformation is composed of three successive operations: (1) nickel-catalyzed ring-opening C-O bond arylation with arylmagnesium bromides, (2) trifluoromethanesulfonylation (triflation) of the resulting hydroxy moiety with TfO, and (3) palladium-catalyzed or photoinduced ring closure. In the last ring-closing step, the photoinduced process has proven to be more productive than the palladium-catalyzed one.