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Dopamine release in the hippocampus has been shown to be essential for memory consolidation in rodents. Similarly, Chowdhuryet al. now demonstrate that, in humans, the persistence of episodic memory is enhanced following pharmacological increase in hippocampal dopamine.
Dopaminergic midbrain neurons that project to the striatum can also inhibit striatal output by releasing GABA, which is packaged into vesicles by the vesicular monoamine transmitter VMAT2.
The BCM theory of synaptic plasticity is now 30 years old. In this Perspective article, Cooper and Bear discuss how this theory has advanced our understanding of synaptic plasticity, learning and memory and highlight the important role that theory can have in neuroscience research.
Honeybees exhibit complex social, navigational and communication behaviours, controlled by a nervous system of around 1 million neurons. In this Review, Randolf Menzel discusses the utility of the honeybee as a model organism for the study of a wide range of important cognitive functions, including learning and memory.
An international collaboration has mapped the transcriptome of the adult human brain in unprecedented detail, sampling around 900 defined anatomical sites and providing a wealth of freely available data.
Chronic stress causes a switch in the actions of corticotropin-releasing factor in the nucleus accumbens, from promoting dopamine release and inducing an appetitive state to inducing an aversive state.