Meredith C Schuman, Kathleen Barthel, Ian T Baldwin
A 2-year field study has demonstrated that volatile compounds produced by plants when they are attacked by herbivores act as defenses by attracting predators to the herbivores and increasing the reproduction of the plants.
Hundreds of cell growth and stress response genes are controlled by a rare small RNA component of an ancient splicing machinery, providing a raison d'être for its previously unexplained evolutionary conservation.
Associative learning, but not passive odorant exposure, induces a novel long lasting functional plasticity in the periphery of mouse olfactory system, making previously encountered odors easier to detect in the future.
As mice learn to associate events separated in time, neurons within the CA1 region of the hippocampus progressively reorganize their firing patterns, leading to a relay of cellular activity that bridges the two events.
Alexander M Jones, Jonas ÅH Danielson ... Wolf B Frommer
Fluorescent sensors for the hormone abscisic acid have been developed using a high-throughput platform, and used to monitor hormone dynamics in plant roots and leaves.
Male and female mice respond differently to the same pheromone signals, and the representation of these sensory stimuli by neurons in the medial amygdala correlates precisely with the differences in behavior.
In nematode worms, the length of the male refractory period–the time between matings–is regulated by multiple transmitters including dopamine, which both promotes ejaculation and reduces the activity of males post-copulation.
Identification of two classes of mouse vomeronasal receptors for female pheromone cues suggests distinct gating mechanisms in pheromone-triggered reproductive behaviors.
A distinct cortical region serves head gaze following, and is needed to establish joint attention with others and to ultimately develop a theory of others' mind.
