The making of the Drosophila mushroom body

Front Physiol. 2023 Jan 13:14:1091248. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1091248. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The mushroom body (MB) is a computational center in the Drosophila brain. The intricate neural circuits of the mushroom body enable it to store associative memories and process sensory and internal state information. The mushroom body is composed of diverse types of neurons that are precisely assembled during development. Tremendous efforts have been made to unravel the molecular and cellular mechanisms that build the mushroom body. However, we are still at the beginning of this challenging quest, with many key aspects of mushroom body assembly remaining unexplored. In this review, I provide an in-depth overview of our current understanding of mushroom body development and pertinent knowledge gaps.

Keywords: Drosophila; axonal guidance; cell fate specification; mushroom body; neural circuit assembly; neural development; neuronal remodeling.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

Academia Sinica, Taiwan, AS-CDA-110-L06. National Science and Technology Council, 111-2326-B-001-005-MY3, 109-2628-B-001-013, and 107-2311-B-001-042-MY3.