Memory consolidation in Drosophila operant visual learning.

A new conditioning procedure, developed for the operant learning paradigm at the flight simulator, leads to stronger learning scores in wild-type flies. This procedure produces mean learning indices up to LI = 0.52. The heat-avoidance behavior acquired during training is very difficult to extinguish during extinction. Memory decays quickly during the first 3 hr after training and still is measurable 48 hr later. Disruption experiments demonstrate that memory can be disrupted by cold anesthesia within the first approximately 20 min after training, whereas KCl- and CXM-feeding regimens abolish memory soon after training and 3 hr later, respectively. These results initially suggest at least three distinct memory phases involved in memory consolidation in Drosophila after operant conditioning.