Olfactory projection neurons connecting to Kenyon cells in the mushroom body of a fruit fly. Image credit: Josie Clowney (CC BY 4.0)
Despite having a limited number of senses, animals can perceive a huge range of sensations. One possible explanation is that the brain combines several stimuli to make each specific sensation.
The olfactory learning system in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is in a part of the brain called the mushroom body. It allows fruit flies to associate a specific smell with a reward (e.g. food) or a punishment (e.g. poison) and behave accordingly. Two groups of neurons process stimuli from sensory receptors in the mushroom body: olfactory projection neurons carry information from the receptors and pass it on to neurons called Kenyon cells. The system relies on Kenyon cells receiving the combined input of multiple olfactory projection neurons, and therefore information from multiple receptors. The number of inputs each Kenyon cell receives is thought to determine the number of sensations that can be told apart, and thus, the number of signals that can be used for learning.
While many mechanisms dictating the complexity of a neuron’s shape have been described, the logic behind how two populations of neurons become connected to combine several inputs into a single sensation has not been addressed. A better understanding of how these connections are established during development can help explain how the brain processes information, and the D. melanogaster mushroom body is a good system to address these questions.
Elkahlah, Rogow et al. manipulated the number of olfactory projection neurons and Kenyon cells in the mushroom body of fruit flies during development. They found that despite there being a varying number of cells, the number of connections into a post-synaptic cell remained the same. This indicates that the logic behind the combinations of inputs required for a sensation depends on the Kenyon cell, while olfactory projection neurons can adapt during their development to suit these input demands. Thus, if there are fewer Kenyon cells, the olfactory projection neurons will each provide connections to fewer cells to compensate, and if there are fewer olfactory projection neurons, each of them will input into more Kenyon cells. To show that the developing mushroom body could indeed adapt to different numbers of olfactory projection neurons and Kenyon cells, the modified flies were tested for olfactory perception: their responses to odor were largely normal.
These results underline the robustness of neuronal circuits. During development, the mushroom body can compensate for missing or extra neurons by modifying the numbers of connections between two groups of neurons, thus allowing the olfactory system to work normally. This robustness may also predispose the system to evolutionary change, since it allows the system to continue working as it changes. These findings are relevant to any area of the brain where neurons rely on combined input from many sources.
