ASSOCIATIVE VISUAL LEARNING IN DROSOPHILA ABOLISHED BY BENZALDEHYDE
苯甲醛对果蝇视觉联想记忆的阻断

The associative visual learning experiments on the fruit flies, Drosophila, were carried out in the flight simulator system using the visual patterns as cues, and heat shock as negative reinforcer. The test - flies were exposed previously to the odour of benzaldehyde at their different developmental stages respectively.Previous exposure to benzaldehyde even at their larval stage, or at the adult stage, can abolished the ability of formation of visual associative memory in the adult flies.Exposure to benzaldehyde even early in their embryonic stages as eggs in the ovaries of virgin females fully blocked the learning ability in the adult flies of their first generation. After successive 3 generations of growth on the non - contaminated medium the learning ability could be fully recovered.