Hunger and memory; CRTC coordinates long-term memory with the physiological state, hunger

Animals form and store memory, which advantageously adjusts their behavior later on. Although the growing body of evidences suggests the basic mechanisms of memory, it is not clear whether and in which physiological state memory functions can be altered. Here we discuss our recent study that mild fasting facilitates long-term memory (LTM) formation in Drosophila.(1) Canonical LTM in flies is induced by multiple training with rest intervals, and is mediated by a transcription factor, CREB and its binding protein, CBP. However, fasting allows LTM formation (fLTM) only by single-cycle training, in a manner dependent on another CREB binding protein, CRTC. Although it has been controversial, we are convinced that gene expression in a specific neural structure, called mushroom body (MB), is required for LTMs. We also showed data suggesting that reduced insulin signaling during fasting activates CRTC, thereby inducing fLTM formation. These data provides the conceptual advance that flies adapt their mechanisms for LTM formation according to their internal condition, hunger state. Due to limited food resources in the wild, fLTM could be one of the major form of LTM in natural environment. Furthermore, our data also indicate a novel conception that improvement of memory deficit might be achieved by activation of CRTC.