Pavlov's Bugs
By Helen Potter
Those with a fear of creepy crawlies might want to look away now, because it seems that cockroaches have a memory and possess the ability to learn just like humans and dogs.Researchers at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Life Sciences performed a similar experiment to the one Pavlov used with his dogs. In Pavlov’s classic experiment pooches learned to associate the ring of a bell with food and were shown to start slobbering at the sound, even when there was not a scrap to be seen (a bit like in this diagram).
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In this latest experiment, cockroaches were exposed to an odour when they were fed a sugar solution. Later, scientists found that the cockroaches started drooling when exposed to the odour alone. A control group that had been fed sugar without the odour didn't salivate when exposed to it.
This conditioning can only take place when there is learning and memory, and previously the salivation response has only been proved in dogs and humans.
"Sure, cockroaches can remember and learn," said researcher Makoto Mizunami, "We believe that it is very important to study a simple system to very precisely determine what is happening during learning. We hope it is at least in part applicable to humans."
The next step for the team is to understand precisely which neurons in the cockroach are responsible for this learning.
Helen's page. Check it. Dude.
Interested in insects? Maybe you should try:
- Spoof - That loving flea-ling
- Straight - One small step for a bug
Dog tired? Then these are definitely for you:
- Strange - Pass out pooches
- Video - Skeeter the narcoleptic poodle
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