The less-complex central nervous system of many invertebrates make them attractive for not only the molecular analysis of the associative learning and memory, but also in determining how neural circuits are modified by learning to generate changes in behavior. The nudibranch mollusk "Hermissenda crassicornis" is a preparation that has contributed…

We have carried out a global survey of age-related changes in mRNA levels in the 57BL/6NIA mouse hippocampus and found a difference in the hippocampal gene expression profile between 2-month-old young mice and 15-month-old middle-aged mice correlated with an age-related cognitive deficit in hippocampal-based explicit memory formation. Middle-aged…

Recognition memory, involving the ability to discriminate between a novel and familiar object, depends on the integrity of the perirhinal cortex (PRH). Glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the cortex, is essential for many types of memory processes. Of the subtypes of glutamate receptor, metabotropic receptors (mGluRs) have received…

Place cells of the rat hippocampus are a dominant model system for understanding the role of the hippocampus in learning and memory at the level of single-unit and neural ensemble responses. A complete understanding of the information processing and computations performed by the hippocampus requires detailed knowledge about the properties of the…

Following initial encoding, memories undergo a prolonged period of reorganization. While such reorganization may occur in many different memory systems, its purpose is not clear. Previously, we have shown that recall of recent contextual fear memories engages the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC). In contrast, recall of remote contextual fear memories…

Little is known about signaling mechanisms underlying temporal associative learning. Here, we show that mice with a targeted point mutation that prevents autophosphorylation of [alpha]CaMKII ([alpha]CaMKII[superscript T286A]) learn trace eyeblink conditioning normally. This forms a sharp contrast to the severely impaired spatial learning in the…

Synapsins are evolutionarily conserved, highly abundant vesicular phosphoproteins in presynaptic terminals. They are thought to regulate the recruitment of synaptic vesicles from the reserve pool to the readily-releasable pool, in particular when vesicle release is to be maintained at high spiking rates. As regulation of transmitter release is a…

Prior exposure to drugs of abuse has been shown to occlude the structural plasticity associated with living in a complex environment. Amphetamine treatment may also occlude some cognitive advantages normally associated with living in a complex environment. To test this hypothesis we examined the influence of prior exposure to amphetamine on fear…

In this article, the author shares how she used a video on animals to teach her graduate classes about subjectivity in assessment. For this video assessment, she made her students evaluate the video based on five categories: content, structure, sensitivity to audience, audio, and visual. As a teacher, she knows how impossible it is to be totally…

Purpose: Given the importance of education-based approaches in stimulating breastfeeding, the paper aims to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of discussing breastfeeding with school children. Design/methodology/approach: Two workshops about breastfeeding and on the view of the human being as a mammal were carried out in schools in Brazil.…

We directly compared chimpanzee infants and human infants for categorical representations of three global-like categories (mammals, furniture and vehicles), using the familiarization-novelty preference technique. Neither species received any training during the experiments. We used the time that participants spent looking at the stimulus object…

One of the longstanding issues in language research has been the extent to which the mechanisms underlying language acquisition are uniquely human. The primary goal of this article is to introduce the reader to some of the recent developments in comparative language research that have shed new light on this issue. To appreciate the significance of…

Many coastal First Nations communities, particularly in British Columbia, see consultation as a positive way of getting around the firmly entrenched position of both provincial and federal governments on fish farming. Even those Native groups such as the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council (MTTC) and the Homalco First Nation, who are adamantly…

The author believes that very young children are able to understand the abstract concept of peace. In her primary classroom she introduces the concept of peace to the children in a low energy environment with low lights, and soft music. When children feel at peace in their hearts, they relate peacefully to those around them. She begins with the…

Established in 1984 by organizations the Donkey Sanctuary and the International League for the Protection of Horses in conjunction with the National Autonomous University of Mexico's School of Veterinary Medicine, an outreach program seeks to provide veterinary care to animals in suburban underprivileged areas of Mexico City and other urban…