Search research articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Operant conditioning in invertebrates.

Björn Brembs¹

¹Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 6431 Fannin, MSB 7.312, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. bjoern@brembs.net

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

|December 10, 2003

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Wings of Change: aPKC/FoxP-dependent plasticity in steering motor neurons underlies operant self-learning in <i>Drosophila</i>.

F1000Research·2024

Same author

Replacing academic journals.

Royal Society open science·2023

Same author

Mastodon over Mammon: towards publicly owned scholarly knowledge.

Royal Society open science·2023

Same author

Mastodon: a move to publicly owned scholarly knowledge.

Nature·2023

Same author

Collective action or individual choice: Spontaneity and individuality contribute to decision-making in Drosophila.

PloS one·2021

Same author

Current market rates for scholarly publishing services.

F1000Research·2021

Same journal

Cichlid fish as a model for understanding social dysfunction.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

On aims and methods in field neuroethology: Investigating neural mechanisms of behavior in semi-natural and natural contexts.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Neurobiological interfaces connecting environmental change to monarch butterfly migration.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Learning how to experience the world: From circuits to cell types to genes.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Editorial overview for neurobiology of disease 2026.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Optical voltage imaging: ready to spark systems neuroscience.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

See all related articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Invertebrate models reveal key mechanisms of operant conditioning, a fundamental learning process. Research in fruit flies, sea slugs, and pond snails provides insights into behavior selection and initiation.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Behavioral Biology
Genetics

Background:

Operant conditioning, learning from behavioral consequences, is conserved across species.
Understanding its mechanisms is crucial for behavioral biology and neuroscience.
Invertebrate models offer unique advantages for studying fundamental learning processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the mechanistic underpinnings of operant conditioning using invertebrate model organisms.
To identify genetic and cellular components involved in behavior selection and initiation during learning.
To highlight the utility of invertebrates in complementing vertebrate research on learning.

Main Methods:

Utilizing the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) in heat-box experiments to study gene function in operant conditioning.

Related Experiment Videos

Investigating the sea slug (Aplysia californica) to uncover cellular mechanisms of behavior selection.

Examining the pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) to identify key neurons involved in initiating learned behaviors.

Main Results:

The 'ignorant' gene was implicated in Drosophila melanogaster's operant conditioning.
Aplysia californica research identified a cellular mechanism for behavior selection at the intersection of operant behavior and reward.
Lymnaea stagnalis studies elucidated the role of a specific neuron in initiating operant conditioning.

Conclusions:

Invertebrate models provide powerful tools for dissecting the complex mechanisms of operant conditioning.
These findings advance our understanding of conserved learning principles across the animal kingdom.
Research in invertebrates significantly contributes to and stimulates research in vertebrate learning models.