A cost of long-term memory in Drosophila

Mery, Frederic; Kawecki, Tadeusz J.

doi:10.1126/science.1111331

Back

Journal article

+ 1 other files

A cost of long-term memory in Drosophila

Mery, Frederic Section of Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Kawecki, Tadeusz J. Section of Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

20.05.2005

Published in:

Science. - 2005, vol. 308, no. 5725, p. 1148

English Two distinct forms of consolidated associative memory are known in Drosophila: long- term memory and so-called anesthesia-resistant memory. Long-term memory is more stable, but unlike anesthesia-resistant memory, its formation requires protein synthesis. We show that flies induced to form long-term memory become more susceptible to extreme stress (such as desiccation). In contrast, induction of anesthesia-resistant memory had no detectable effect on desiccation resistance. This finding may help to explain why evolution has maintained anesthesia-resistant memory as another form of consolidated memory, distinct from long-term memory.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

Language