Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning
09:48

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning

Published on: August 7, 2014

28.3K

Age-related decrease in appetitive associative memory in fruit flies.

Christian König1, Bertram Gerber1,2,3

  • 1Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Department Genetics of Learning and Memory, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany.

The Journal of Experimental Biology
|November 14, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Avoidance engages dopaminergic punishment in <i>Drosophila</i>.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Compromising Tyrosine Hydroxylase Function Extends and Blunts the Temporal Profile of Reinforcement by Dopamine Neurons in <i>Drosophila</i>.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025
Same author

High-resolution analysis of individual <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> larvae uncovers individual variability in locomotion and its neurogenetic modulation.

Open biology·2023
Same author

The making of a maggot brain.

eLife·2023
Same author

Optogenetically induced reward and 'frustration' memory in larval Drosophila melanogaster.

The Journal of experimental biology·2022
Same author

A quick and versatile protocol for the 3D visualization of transgene expression across the whole body of larval <i>Drosophila</i>.

Journal of neurogenetics·2021
Same journal

Interaction between dynamic reinforcement learning and working memory of pigeon: A comparative modeling study.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same journal

Differential responses to photoperiod in juveniles of two migratory songbird species.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same journal

A Drosophila overgrowth model reveals extracellular matrix crosslinking limits cardiovascular scaling.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same journal

Control of High-speed Jumps: Removing rotation from the jumps of locusts (Schistocerca gregaria).

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same journal

Limits and mechanisms of honey bee colonial thermoregulation in the heat.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same journal

Correction: Sprinting performance is linked to surface activity in scorpions.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
See all related articles

Fruit fly memory scores decline with age, especially in young females. This study shows that odor-sucrose reward memory decreases as flies get older, impacting learning and recall.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Memory performance naturally declines with age across many species.
  • Previous research in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) focused on memory related to negative reinforcement (electric shock).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related changes in memory associated with positive reinforcement (sucrose reward) in fruit flies.
  • To determine if memory decline in flies is specific to punishment-based learning.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Drosophila melanogaster for memory experiments.
  • Assessed memory scores using one-trial and two-trial conditioning with odor-sucrose reward associations.
  • Conducted immediate and delayed (1-day recall) memory tests.
Keywords:
Drosophila melanogasterAgeingLearningRewardSex difference

More Related Videos

Drosophila Passive Avoidance Behavior as a New Paradigm to Study Associative Aversive Learning
06:20

Drosophila Passive Avoidance Behavior as a New Paradigm to Study Associative Aversive Learning

Published on: October 15, 2021

3.8K
Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
09:22

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: February 18, 2013

19.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning
09:48

Drosophila Adult Olfactory Shock Learning

Published on: August 7, 2014

28.3K
Drosophila Passive Avoidance Behavior as a New Paradigm to Study Associative Aversive Learning
06:20

Drosophila Passive Avoidance Behavior as a New Paradigm to Study Associative Aversive Learning

Published on: October 15, 2021

3.8K
Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
09:22

Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: February 18, 2013

19.1K

Main Results:

  • Odor-sucrose reward memory scores significantly decrease as fruit flies age.
  • This age-related memory decline was observed across different conditioning trials and testing delays.
  • The decrease in memory performance was most pronounced in young flies (2-3 weeks post-hatching) and in females compared to males.

Conclusions:

  • Age-related memory decline is not limited to negative reinforcement learning in fruit flies.
  • Positive reinforcement memory also diminishes with age, suggesting a broader impact of aging on mnemonic faculties.
  • Sex differences in the rate of memory decline are present in young fruit flies.