Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:41:32 BST CiteULike: brembs's snails http://www.citeulike.org/user/brembs/tag/snails CiteULike.org en-gb Copyright © 2004-2008 citeulike.org http://www.citeulike.org/user/brembs/article/877188 <i>Curr Opin Neurobiol, Vol. 13, No. 6. (December 2003), pp. 710-717.</i><br /><br />Learning to anticipate future events on the basis of past experience with the consequences of one's own behavior (operant conditioning) is a simple form of learning that humans share with most other animals, including invertebrates. Three model organisms have recently made significant contributions towards a mechanistic model of operant conditioning, because of their special technical advantages. Research using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster implicated the ignorant gene in operant conditioning in the heat-box, research on the sea slug Aplysia californica contributed a cellular mechanism of behavior selection at a convergence point of operant behavior and reward, and research on the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis elucidated the role of a behavior-initiating neuron in operant conditioning. These insights demonstrate the usefulness of a variety of invertebrate model systems to complement and stimulate research in vertebrates. Operant conditioning in invertebrates. B Brembs Curr Opin Neurobiol, Vol. 13, No. 6. (December 2003), pp. 710-717. 2006-09-29T06:48:41-00:00 2003 Curr Opin Neurobiol 0959-4388 13 6 710 717 aplysia drosophila flies learning memory neurobiology neuroscience snails