Wnt Signaling Is Required for Long-Term Memory Formation

Abstract

Wnt signaling regulates synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis in the adult nervous system, suggesting a potential role in behavioral processes. Here, we probed the requirement for Wnt signaling during olfactory memory formation in Drosophila using an inducible RNAi approach. Interfering with β-catenin expression in adult mushroom body neurons specifically impaired long-term memory (LTM) without altering short-term memory. The impairment was reversible, being rescued by expression of a wild-type β-catenin transgene, and correlated with disruption of a cellular LTM trace. Inhibition of wingless, a Wnt ligand, and arrow, a Wnt coreceptor, also impaired LTM. Wingless expression in wild-type flies was transiently elevated in the brain after LTM conditioning. Thus, inhibiting three key components of the Wnt signaling pathway in adult mushroom bodies impairs LTM, indicating that this pathway mechanistically underlies this specific form of memory.