We successfully implanted entirely artificial memories by simultaneously activating sensory neurons and dopaminergic circuits using optogenetics. Even without any natural odors or reinforcements, we could implant new odor memories.
We found that coincident activation of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and dopamine neurons was sufficient to form both aversive and appetitive memories. Complex temporal patterns weren't required: simple rectangular light pulses worked fine.
This study demonstrates that basic co-activation of sensory and neuromodulatory pathways is enough to instruct associative learning.
Our fully optogenetic approach opens new possibilities for dissecting memory mechanisms with unprecedented control over timing and cellular specificity.
Grateful to my co-authors Tayfun Tümkaya, Ph.D., Xianyuan Zhang. Yishan Mai, James Stewart, and the team at Duke-NUS Medical School & A*STAR Singapore.
Read the full paper in iScience: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113540
We found that coincident activation of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and dopamine neurons was sufficient to form both aversive and appetitive memories. Complex temporal patterns weren't required: simple rectangular light pulses worked fine.
This study demonstrates that basic co-activation of sensory and neuromodulatory pathways is enough to instruct associative learning.
Our fully optogenetic approach opens new possibilities for dissecting memory mechanisms with unprecedented control over timing and cellular specificity.
Grateful to my co-authors Tayfun Tümkaya, Ph.D., Xianyuan Zhang. Yishan Mai, James Stewart, and the team at Duke-NUS Medical School & A*STAR Singapore.
Read the full paper in iScience: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113540
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