Research highlight
Strengthen your synapses for better reward
Nature
May 12, 2008
No one quite understands the neuronal changes that govern reward-directed learning. A paper in this week’s Nature helps to clarify the synaptic mechanisms involved.
Patricia Janak and colleagues trained rats to self-administer a sugar reward. They showed that reward learning depends on increased activity and synaptic strength in the amygdala, a brain region important for emotional-based learning.
The level of learning attained by individual animals correlated well with the degree of synaptic strength enhancement ? enabling the team to identify a key mechanism that could underlie goal-directed behaviour.
doi: 10.1038/nature06963
Research highlights
-
Jan 13
Genetics: Correcting for genetic associations between alcohol and diseaseNature Communications
-
Dec 23
Biomedical engineering: Tiny device goes with the (blood) flowNature Communications
-
Dec 21
Epidemiology: Underdetection of COVID-19 after the first lockdown in FranceNature
-
Dec 18
Geology: Alpine summits may have been ice-free during life of Tyrolean IcemanScientific Reports
-
Dec 17
Epidemiology: Mapping gaps in measles vaccination coverageNature
-
Dec 17
Neuroscience: When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with youNature
