- Title Information
- Title
- Characterizing Choice Behavior in Drosophila Olfactory Classical Conditioning
- Type of Resource (primo)
- dissertations
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Stea, Samuel Giovanni
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- creator
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Kaun, Karla
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Advisor
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Aizenman, Carlos
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- O'Connor-Giles, Kate
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Corporate
- Name Part
- Brown University. Biology and Medicine: Biotechnology
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- sponsor
- Origin Information
- Copyright Date
- 2026
- Physical Description
- Extent
- viii, 51 p.
- digitalOrigin
- born digital
- Note:
thesis
- Thesis (Sc. M.)--Brown University, 2026
- Genre (aat)
- theses
- Abstract
- Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism to understand the neural and
molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. However, memory is usually studied
by assessing choice behavior at only one point in time in Drosophila, which limits our
understanding of how flies respond to a learned cue. We developed a simple open-field style
assay that records the continuous behavioral dynamics of flies as they form preferences
between two competing olfactory stimuli. We trained flies to associate odors with either a reward
(sucrose) or punishment (electric shock) and found that within 30 seconds, flies learned to
approach the sugar-associated odor and avoid the shock-associated odor. Their collective
behavior dynamics suggest the flies became more decisive over time; they traveled more on the
preferred side, stayed closer to the source of the preferred cue, made more stops there, and
consistently turned away from alternative cue. We confirmed these results by showing that a
learning-deficient mutant strain displayed no choice behavior. This assay provides enhanced
resolution for understanding decision-making as a continuous, dynamic process in Drosophila.
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00898389")
- Topic
- Drosophila--Behavior
- Language
- Language Term (ISO639-2B)
- English
- Record Information
- Record Content Source (marcorg)
- RPB
- Record Creation Date
(encoding="iso8601")
- 20260516