# brain: learning on the fly (in D. melanogaster and mammals)

AA << have developed a new computational model that demonstrates a long sought after link between insect and mammalian learning (..)   Incorporating anatomical and functional data from recent experiments, Dr James Bennett and colleagues modelled how the anatomy and physiology of the fruit fly's brain can support learning according to the reward prediction error (RPE) hypothesis. >>️

<< The computational model indicates how dopamine neurons in an area of a fruit fly's brain, known as the mushroom body, can produce similar signals to dopamine neurons in mammals, and how these dopamine signals can reliably instruct learning. >>️

Learning on the fly. University of Sussex. May 7, 2021. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210507093941.htm

Bennett, J.E.M., Philippides, A.,  Nowotny, T. Learning with reinforcement prediction errors in a model of the Drosophila mushroom body. Nat Commun 12, 2569. doi: 10.1038/ s41467-021-22592-4. May 7,  2021. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22592-4   

Also

(+) keyword 'melanogaster' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=melanogaster

(+) Voli a casaccio. Notes. Oct 01, 2006. (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2006/10/2066-voli-casaccio.html

# ecol: when a predator could help his prey to adapt to an uncertain future (among the fly Iteomyia salicisverruca) ...

<< The loss of biodiversity is rewiring the web of life; however, it is uncertain how this will affect the ability of remaining populations to evolve and adapt to future environments. >>

AA << conducted a field experiment that either maintained a natural community of predators or removed all but one of the predators that was able to impose selection on a common prey. (They) found that the loss of predators acted to constrain prey evolution toward a particular combination of traits. Moreover, (they) found that the loss of predators could make it more difficult for prey to adapt to uncertain future environments. Taken together, (these) results suggest that the simplification of the web of life may constrain the adaptive potential of remaining populations. >>

Matthew A. Barbour, Christopher J. Greyson‐Gaito, et al. Loss of consumers constrains phenotypic evolution in the resulting food web. Evolution Letters. doi: 10.1002/ evl3.170. Apr 20, 2020. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.170

<< Thinking about the big picture, our study hints at a potential insidious side effect of extinctions, (..) The extinction of natural enemies may compromise the ability of remaining species to adapt and persist in an uncertain and changing world. If this is true, this would put many ecosystems at even greater risk than we currently realize. >> Matthew A. Barbour.

Predators help prey adapt to an uncertain future. University of Zurich. 

 May 4, 2020

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-predators-prey-uncertain-future.html

# brain: the flexible mental maps of flies

<< In the Drosophila brain, 'compass'  neurons track the orientation of the body and head (the fly’s heading) during navigation >>

<<  a visual cue can evoke synaptic inhibition in compass neurons and that R (ring) neurons mediate this inhibition. Each compass neuron is inhibited only by specific visual cue positions, indicating that many potential connections from R neurons onto compass neurons are actually weak or silent. (..) the pattern of visually evoked inhibition can reorganize over minutes as the fly explores an altered virtual-reality environment. >>

Yvette E. Fisher, Jenny Lu, et al. Sensorimotor experience remaps visual input to a heading-direction network.  Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1772-4. Nov 20, 2019. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1772-4

To navigate, flies make flexible mental maps of the world. Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Nov 20, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-11-flies-flexible-mental-world.html

Also

<<  Considerando invece l' immagine classica della "mosca nella bottiglia", >>  in: 2066 - voli a casaccio. Notes. Oct 01, 2006. 

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2006/10/2066-voli-casaccio.html