Drosophila Conditioned Courtship: Two Ways of Testing Memory

Abstract

In Drosophila, courtship reduction in male flies that have previous experience of courting a mated female is a result of the counterconditioning of an attractive unconditioned stimulus (US)—the aphrodisiac—which becomes an aversive conditioned stimulus (CS) after being paired with an aversive US—the antiaphrodisiac. In a retention test with a virgin female lacking the antiaphrodisiac, males retain a lower level of courtship for 3 hr after training. However, a measure of courtship suppression, the learning index (LI), decreases significantly after only 1 hr. In contrast, in the retraining test with a mated female, the LI shows no decrease for 8 hr but falls below significance 16 hr after training. These results are discussed in terms of the transfer of training. Nonspecific transfer and nonassociative behavioral modifications play little, if any, role in the transfer of training. The retraining test is recommended as a new protocol for studying conditioned courtship. According to the model proposed here, in tests with a virgin female, the duration of memory retention is limited by the retention of the direct association between the CS and the aversive motivational system or by the retention of an internal representation of the US. In retraining tests, the CS–US association seems to be the only factor involved in transfer 3 or more hours after training.

cd1 Mutation in Drosophila Affects Phenoxazinone Synthase Catalytic Site and Impairs Long-Term Memory

“…In our study, we used a CCSP retraining protocol, where a mated female served a trainer [ 53 , 54 ]. According to Keleman and coauthors, courtship learning in this case occurs as an enhanced response of a male after unsuccessful courtship to cVA released from a female.…”

“…Learning acquisition and LTM retention was estimated in CCSP [ 53 , 68 ] modified for LTM [ 54 ]. For each strain, all males were divided into several independent groups: 1.…”

Genes Responsible for H2S Production and Metabolism Are Involved in Learning and Memory in Drosophila melanogaster

“…To evaluate memory formation in drosophila males, we used the conditioned courtship suppression paradigm (CCSP) [ 29 ]. Drosophila melanogaster males drastically reduce courtship behavior after mating failure.…”

Evaluating Learning and Memory in Drosophila melanogaster to Study the Neurodevelopmental Impacts of Toxicants

“…Courtship conditioning is a classic paradigm for studying associative learning and memory in male Drosophila . Conditioned responses in fly courtship behaviors were first described in the late 1970s by Siegel and Hall (1979), and the methodology has since been adapted and refined by other research groups (Kamyshev, Iliadi, & Bragina, 1999; Keleman, Krüttner, Alenius, & Dickson 2007; Koemans et al., 2017; McBride et al., 2012; Siegel & Hall, 1979). In this paradigm, learning and memory of male flies is gauged by measuring the extent to which they repress their courtship activity following a training period with an unreceptive female (an aversive stimulus).…”