BrainBlog

The October 2009 issue of Nature's NeuroPod podcast is available for listening and download. It can be found at NeuroPod homepage . This edition includes reports about gaming mice and the relation between sleep problems and memory function. From the homepage: " About NeuroPod "NeuroPod is the neuroscience podcast from Nature, produced in association with the Dana Foundation. Each month, join us as we delve into the latest research on the brain, from its molecular makings to the mysteries of the mind. We'll also be bringing you the latest news from neuroscience conferences around the globe, along with special reports on hot areas in neuroscience. "For complete access to the original papers featured in NeuroPod, subscribe to Nature, Nature Neuroscience, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience."

A very interesting paper about classical conditioning. Enjoy. If you are a student, you might also see this referred to as Pavlovian conditioning ... Makoto Mizunami, Sae Unoki, Yasuhiro Mori, Daisuke Hirashima, Ai Hatano, & Yukihisa Matsumoto. (2009). Roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in appetitive and aversive memory recall in an insect. BMC Biology, 7:46 [doi:10.1186/1741-7007-7-46] Published: 4 August 2009 Abstract, with link to full BioMedCentral paper Abstract (provisional) Background In insect classical conditioning, octopamine (the invertebrate counterpart of noradrenaline) or dopamine has been suggested to mediate reinforcing properties of appetitive or aversive unconditioned stimulus, respectively. However, the roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in memory recall have remained unclear. Results We studied the roles of octopaminergic and dopaminergic neurons in appetitive and aversive memory recall in olfactory and visual conditioning in cric...

Are you interested in reading disorders or, generally, in learning disorders. If so, the new issue of JINS (Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society) has an excellent article by Dr. Jack Fletcher on this topic. Unless you subscribe or have a Cambridge University Press account, you would likely need to track it down at your nearest academic library, but it is a worthwhile read on the topic