Learning in the Single-Cell Organism Physarum polycephalum: Effect of Propofol

Autor: Stefan Kippenberger, Gordon Pipa, Katja Steinhorst, Nadja Zöller, Johannes Kleemann, Deniz Özistanbullu, Roland Kaufmann, Bertram Scheller
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 24, Iss 7, p 6287 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 24076287
1422-0067
1661-6596
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076287
Popis: Propofol belongs to a class of molecules that are known to block learning and memory in mammals, including rodents and humans. Interestingly, learning and memory are not tied to the presence of a nervous system. There are several lines of evidence indicating that single-celled organisms also have the capacity for learning and memory which may be considered as basal intelligence. Here, we introduce a new experimental model for testing the learning ability of Physarum polycephalum, a model organism frequently used to study single-celled “intelligence”. In this study, the impact of propofol on Physarum’s “intelligence” was tested. The model consists of a labyrinth of subsequent bifurcations in which food (oat flakes soaked with coconut oil-derived medium chain triglycerides [MCT] and soybean oil-derived long chain triglycerides [LCT]) or propofol in MCT/LCT) is placed in one of each Y-branch. In this setting, it was tested whether Physarum memorized the rewarding branch. We saw that Physarum was a quick learner when capturing the first bifurcations of the maze; thereafter, the effect decreased, perhaps due to reaching a state of satiety. In contrast, when oat flakes were soaked with propofol, Physarum’s preference for oat flakes declined significantly. Several possible actions, including the blocking of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor signaling, are suggested to account for this behavior, many of which can be tested in our new model.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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