For memory, sea slugs’ XL neurons are the best
Neuroscientists have isolated the “when” and “where” of molecular activity that occurs in the formation of short-, intermediate-, and long-term memories.
To figure it out, the researchers at NYU studied the neurons in Aplysia californica, the California sea slug.
Aplysia’s neurons are 10 to 50 times larger than those of higher organisms, such as vertebrates, and it possesses a relatively small network of neurons—characteristics that readily allow for the examination of molecular signaling during memory formation.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Greg Schechter/Flickr
0 Comments