{"id":126044,"date":"2024-11-15T07:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T00:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=126044"},"modified":"2024-11-15T07:31:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T00:31:02","slug":"neural-flexibility-prioritizing-memories-to-guide-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=126044","title":{"rendered":"Neural Flexibility: Prioritizing Memories to Guide Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Summary: <\/strong>Male worms can activate two conflicting memories\u2014mating and starvation\u2014when encountering the same odor, but only one influences their behavior. A study conditioned worms to associate the smell with both positive (mating) and negative (starvation) experiences, revealing that mating associations overrode avoidance behavior.<\/p>\n<p>This flexible memory processing highlights how the brain prioritizes rewards over punishment under certain conditions. The findings provide insights into memory-driven behavior and offer a model for studying maladaptive processes in disorders like PTSD.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Facts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Male worms can activate conflicting memories, but only one dictates behavior.<\/li>\n<li>Positive (mating) memories can override negative (starvation) associations.<\/li>\n<li>Insights into memory processing could inform PTSD and other neurobehavioral research.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong>UCL<\/p>\n<p><strong>Two conflicting memories can both be activated in a worm\u2019s brain, even if only one memory actively drives the animal\u2019s behaviour, finds a new study by UCL researchers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the paper published in\u00a0<em>Current Biology<\/em>, the researchers showed how an animal\u2019s sex drive can at times outweigh the need to eat when determining behaviour, as they investigated what happens when a worm smells an odour that has been linked to both good experiences (mating) and bad experiences (starvation).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><picture fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-106196\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-300x200.jpg.webp 300w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-770x513.jpg.webp 770w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-1155x770.jpg.webp 1155w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-370x247.jpg.webp 370w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-293x195.jpg.webp 293w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-150x100.jpg.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence.jpg\" alt=\"This shows a brain.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-1155x770.jpg 1155w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-293x195.jpg 293w, https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/files\/2024\/11\/neural-flexibility-memory-neurosicence-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/> <\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The researchers found that in worms that had been conditioned to associate the odour with starvation and mating, both memories were activated in the brain. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The scientists were seeking to understand how an animal\u2019s brain decides if something it encounters is good or bad, and how this determines the animal\u2019s response.<\/p>\n<p>They found that by conditioning male worms to have both positive and negative associations with an odour, both memories will be activated when the worm smells the odour, but only one will impact the animal\u2019s behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers say their findings can be further investigated to gain insight into health conditions where this process goes wrong, such as in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where memories that should remain latent (dormant) are still problematically influencing behaviours and emotions.<\/p>\n<p>Lead author Dr Arantza Barrios (UCL Cell &amp; Developmental Biology) said: \u201cFor our study, we were looking into the brain of the male worm, in order to understand the cellular or molecular mechanisms that determine if a particular memory impacts behaviour. An important part of how we learn is that our brains are able to adapt to new information and override previous associations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Co-first author Dr\u00a0Susana Colinas Fischer\u00a0(UCL\u00a0Cell &amp; Developmental Biology) added: \u201cBy understanding what a very small worm is thinking, we are able to learn more about the processes underlying our own more complex thinking patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study was undertaken with male\u00a0<em>C. elegans<\/em>\u00a0roundworms, a species of worm 1mm in length that is very commonly used as a model organism in scientific research. The worms were presented with an odour that is innately attractive to them, which the researchers say is akin to a person smelling a delicious dinner.<\/p>\n<p>In a series of experiments, the researchers modified the worms\u2019 preference for the odour and monitored their behaviour and brain activity.<\/p>\n<p>The worms\u2019 instinct to approach the odour was overridden with aversive conditioning, in which the worms experienced the odour together with a punishment of starvation.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers then sought to override this learned avoidance with further conditioning, whereby the odour was presented alongside a female mate and some sexual experience, so that the male worms developed a new positive association with the odour.<\/p>\n<p>The analysis identified a circuit of brain cells that represents both positive and negative associations with things the animal has encountered previously, centred on a particular neuropeptide (a chemical messenger in the brain) that stores the memories of both the starvation and mating associations with the odour.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers found that in worms that had been conditioned to associate the odour with starvation and mating, both memories were activated in the brain. But only one of them \u2013 the mating association \u2013 still caused the worm to approach the odour.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers say this indicates that the prospect of a mating reward overrode the prospect of a starvation punishment, even though both memories remained intact \u2013 while the worm no longer avoided the odour, the negative memory of starvation was still represented in the brain activity.<\/p>\n<p>Co-first author Dr\u00a0Laura Molina-Garc\u00eda\u00a0(UCL\u00a0Cell &amp; Developmental Biology) said: \u201cWe found that even in an animal with a very small brain like that of a roundworm, two conflicting memories can both be activated at the same time, with one memory impacting behaviour and one memory remaining latent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way an animal\u2019s brain can flexibly represent something that is partly good and partly bad helps it to learn and adapt to new information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy understanding how some memories can override other conflicting memories, we hope to inform research into treating the maladaptation of this process such as in PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Funding: <\/strong>The research was supported by the Royal Society, Wellcome and Leverhulme Trust.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About this memory and neuroscience research news<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Author: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#2e4d465c475d00424f404b6e5b4d42004f4d005b45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chris Lane<\/a><br \/><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ucl.ac.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UCL<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact: <\/strong>Chris Lane \u2013 UCL<br \/><strong>Image: <\/strong>The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffe8\"><strong>Original Research: <\/strong>Open access.<br \/>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2024.10.024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conflict during learning reconfigures the neural representation of positive valence and approach behaviour<\/a>\u201d by Arantza Barrios et al. <em>Current Biology<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-pale-cyan-blue-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background\"\/>\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Conflict during learning reconfigures the neural representation of positive valence and approach behaviour<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Punishing and rewarding experiences can change the valence of sensory stimuli and guide animal behavior in opposite directions, resulting in avoidance or approach. Often, however, a stimulus is encountered with both positive and negative experiences.<\/p>\n<p>How is such conflicting information represented in the brain and resolved into a behavioral decision?<\/p>\n<p>We address this question by dissecting a circuit for sexual conditioning in\u00a0<em>C.\u00a0elegans<\/em>. In this learning paradigm, an odor is conditioned with both a punishment (starvation) and a reward (mates), resulting in odor approach.<\/p>\n<p>We find that negative and positive experiences are both encoded by the neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor 1 (PDF-1) being released from, and acting on, different neurons. Each experience creates a distinct memory in the circuit for odor processing.<\/p>\n<p>This results in the sensorimotor representation of the odor being different in naive and sexually conditioned animals, despite both displaying approach.<\/p>\n<p>Our results reveal that the positive valence of a stimulus is not represented in the activity of any single neuron class but flexibly represented within the circuit according to the experiences and predictions associated with the stimulus.<\/p>\n<p> <!-- Form created by Optin Forms plugin by WPKube: create beautiful optin forms with ease! --> <!-- https:\/\/wpkube.com\/ --><!--optinforms-form5-container--> <!-- \/ Optin Forms --> <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/neurosciencenews.com\/conflicting-memory-behavior-28052\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: Male worms can activate two conflicting memories\u2014mating and starvation\u2014when encountering the same odor, but only one influences their behavior. A study conditioned worms to associate the smell with both &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=126044\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}