Deep in the midbrain, one type of neuron has two crucial jobs when it comes to acting while anticipating a reward—a state also known as Pavlovian conditioning. Called dopaminergic (DA) neurons, they can link a signal, such as a sound … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
Tag Archives: dopamine
Journal Club: Researchers catch the mouse brain in the act of learning something new
Neurobiologists have captured, for the first time, the moment in a mouse’s brain when it first learns something new: in this case, that a beep signals a delicious droplet of sugar water. The results, recently reported in Nature Neuroscience, support a famous … Continue reading
Categories: Animal Behavior | Cell Biology | Journal Club | Neuroscience
Tagged dopamine, Hebbian model of learning, learning, midbrain, neuron
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Journal Club: “Sandman” molecule controls when fruit flies wake up
Sleep cuts people off from the outside world, which entails considerable risks and costs that scientists reason must be counterbalanced by a vital but enigmatic benefit. Now scientists have discovered what makes a switch flip in the brains of fruit … Continue reading
Categories: Journal Club | Neuroscience
Tagged circadian, dopamine, fruit flies, homeostat, neurons, optogenetics, sleep
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