Fruit flies star in remake of Total Recall

摘要

What do fruit flies and Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common? They have both appeared to have false memories. The release of dopamine by certain neurons is key to fruit fly learning: Gero Miesenboeck at the University of Oxford knew that it occurs when the flies learn to associate an electric shock with a smell, for instance. He wondered if stimulating the right neurons to release dopamine in the presence of an odour, without actually hurting the flies, might also teach them to avoid the smell.