Aging impairs protein-synthesis-dependent long-term memory in Drosophila

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Aging research
• Memory formation

Background:

• Aging is known to impair intermediate-term memory in Drosophila.
• The effect of aging on protein-synthesis-dependent long-term memory (LTM) in Drosophila remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of aging on protein-synthesis-dependent LTM in Drosophila.
• To identify the cellular mechanisms underlying age-related LTM deficits.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism.
• Employed GFP reconstitution across synaptic partners (GRASP) to assess neuronal connectivity.
• Examined synaptic connections between dorsal paired medial (DPM) neurons and mushroom body (MB) neurons.

Main Results:

• Aging impairs protein-synthesis-dependent LTM in Drosophila.
• Age-related LTM deficits are attributed to connectivity defects between DPM neurons and MB neurons, not functional output defects.
• GRASP experiments revealed structural connectivity defects in aged DPM-MB neuron synapses within the α lobe neuropil.
• Failure to form LTM traces in α/β MB neurons was observed in aged animals.

Conclusions:

• Aging impairs protein-synthesis-dependent LTM by reducing the connectivity between DPM and α/β MB neurons.
• Structural defects in DPM-MB neuron connectivity underlie the failure to establish LTM traces in aged Drosophila.
• This study elucidates a specific cellular mechanism contributing to age-related memory decline.