Insects possess miniature brains but exhibit a sophisticated behavioral repertoire. Recent
studies have reported the existence of unsuspected cognitive capabilities in various insect …

Octopamine (OCT) belongs to a group of compounds known as biogenic amines. OCT, a
monohydroxylic analog of norepinephrine, is found in both vertebrate and invertebrate …

In nature, animals form memories associating reward or punishment with stimuli from
different sensory modalities, such as smells and colors. It is unclear, however, how distinct …

In The Mind within the Brain, David Redish brings together cutting edge research in
psychology, robotics, economics, neuroscience, and the new fields of neuroeconomics and …

Concepts act as a cornerstone of human cognition. Humans and non-human primates learn
conceptual relationships such as 'same','different','larger than','better than', among others. In …

Motile animals actively seek out and gather resources they find rewarding, and this is an
extremely powerful organizer and motivator of animal behavior. Mammalian studies have …

Dopaminergic neurons with distinct projection patterns and physiological properties
compose memory subsystems in a brain. However, it is poorly understood whether or how …

The biogenic amine octopamine and its biological precursor tyramine are thought to be the
invertebrate functional homologues of the vertebrate adrenergic transmitters. Octopamine …

Reward seeking is a major motivator and organizer of behavior, and animals readily learn to
modify their behavior to more easily obtain reward, or to respond to stimuli that are predictive …

Elucidation of reinforcement mechanisms in associative learning is an important subject in
neuroscience. In mammals, dopamine neurons are thought to play critical roles in mediating …