, 2012). Nevertheless, time and the methods of conditioning may be important variables. Although appetitive and aversive memory retrieval requires output from the αβ ensemble at 3 hr and 24 hr after conditioning (McGuire et al., 2001, Isabel et al., 2004, selleck chemicals Krashes et al., 2007, Krashes et al., 2009 and Trannoy et al., 2011), αβ neurons were shown to be dispensable for 2 hr appetitive memory retrieval (Trannoy et al., 2011). Instead, appetitive retrieval required γ neuron

output at this earlier point (Trannoy et al., 2011). Our experiments were generally supportive of the γ-then-αβ neuron model but revealed a slightly different temporal relationship. The αβ neurons were dispensable for memory retrieved 30 min after training but were essential for 2 hr and 3 hr memory after training (Figures 2 and S7). An early role for γ neurons is further supported by the importance of reinforcing DA input to the γ neurons for aversive memory formation (Qin et al., 2012). It will be interesting to determine whether there is a stratified representation of valence within the γ neuron population. Finding an

appetitive memory-specific role for αβc neurons suggests that the simplest model in which each odor-activated KC has plastic output synapses driving either approach or avoidance (Schwaerzel et al., 2003) appears incorrect. Such a KC output synapse-specific organization dictates that it would not be possible to functionally segregate aversive and appetitive memory by blocking KC-wide output. We however found

a specific role for the αβc neurons in conditioned approach that supports the alternative model of partially nonoverlapping KC representations tuclazepam ISRIB cell line of aversive and appetitive memories (Schwaerzel et al., 2003). The anatomy of the presynaptic terminals of reinforcing DA neurons in the MB lobes suggests that the functional asymmetry in αβ could be established during training in which αβc only receive appetitive reinforcement. Rewarding DA neurons that innervate the β lobe tip ramify throughout the βs and βc, whereas aversive reinforcing DA neurons appear restricted to the αβs. Consistent with this organization of memory formation, aversive MB-V2α output neurons (Séjourné et al., 2011) have dendrites biased toward αs, whereas the dendrites of aversive (Pai et al., 2013) or appetitive (P.Y. Plaçais and T. Preat personal communication) MB-V3 output neurons are broadly distributed throughout the α lobe tip. We therefore propose a model that learned odor aversion is driven by αβs neurons, whereas learned approach comes from pooling inputs from the αβs and αβc neurons (Figure 7). Another property that distinguishes appetitive from aversive memory retrieval is state dependence; flies only efficiently express appetitive memory if they are hungry (Krashes and Waddell, 2008). Prior work has shown that the dopaminergic MB-MP1 neurons are also critical for this level of control (Krashes et al.