Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
J Exp Biol. 2012 Aug 1;215(Pt 15):2696-702. doi: 10.1242/jeb.066969.
Whereas the pivotal role of insulin signalling in cell division, growth and differentiation is well documented, its role in the regulation of neuronal function and behaviour has recently become the focus of intense investigation. The simple organization of the Drosophila larval brain and the availability of genetic tools to impair the function of insulin receptor signalling in a spatially specific manner makes Drosophila an attractive model to investigate the role of the insulin pathway in specific behaviours. Here, we show that impairment of insulin signalling in the mushroom body neurons, a structure involved in associative learning, impairs feeding behaviour in the Drosophila larva.
虽然胰岛素信号在细胞分裂、生长和分化中的关键作用已有充分的文献记载，但它在神经元功能和行为调节中的作用最近成为了强烈研究的焦点。果蝇幼虫大脑的简单组织以及可用的遗传工具，可特异性地损害胰岛素受体信号的功能，这使得果蝇成为研究胰岛素途径在特定行为中作用的理想模型。在这里，我们表明，在参与联想学习的蘑菇体神经元中，胰岛素信号的损害会损害果蝇幼虫的进食行为。
