Memories are often categorized into types, reflecting their behavioural, anatomical and molecular diversity: these classifications both aid understanding of the differences among varieties of memory and help delineate the unifying cross-species principles underlying them. In the nematode wormCaenorhabditis elegans, we find that an associative memory of the pairing of the normally attractive odorant benzaldehyde and starvation depends on de novo transcription and translation, is independent of CREB, and is produced by massed training: a pattern which does not correspond to any of the well-characterized molecular categories of invertebrate memory. Further, as has been shown for many memories in vertebrates, but not previously in nematodes, we find that formation of this memory continues after removal of the stimuli initially causing it, and that it is labile to disruption through protein synthesis inhibition following training, but that inhibition of proteasomal activity does not extend the duration of the memory. Previous findings have implicated insulin pathway signalling as a key component of this benzaldehyde/starvation memory, however we find that the transcriptional activity required for the memory is likely to be independent of the transcription factors that function at the terminus of this pathway. These findings better characterize this model associative memory in relation to other invertebrate memory types and identify ways in which it both shares their traits and differs from them.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.