AUTHOR=Inami Show , Sato Tomohito , Sakai Takaomi 

TITLE=Circadian Neuropeptide-Expressing Clock Neurons as Regulators of Long-Term Memory: Molecular and Cellular Perspectives

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2022.934222

DOI=10.3389/fnmol.2022.934222

ISSN=1662-5099

ABSTRACT=<p>The neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (Pdf) is critically involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms in various insects. The function of Pdf in circadian rhythms has been best studied in the fruitfly, i.e., <italic>Drosophila melanogaster</italic>. <italic>Drosophila</italic> Pdf is produced in a small subset of circadian clock neurons in the adult brain and functions as a circadian output signal. Recently, however, Pdf has been shown to play important roles not only in regulating circadian rhythms but also in innate and learned behaviors in <italic>Drosophila</italic>. In this mini-review, we will focus on the current findings that Pdf signaling and Pdf-producing neurons are essential for consolidating and maintaining long-term memory induced by the courtship conditioning in <italic>Drosophila</italic> and discuss the mechanisms of courtship memory processing through Pdf-producing neurons.</p>