Among species recovery tools available, re-introduction of animals to the wild is one of the more complex. Since the mid-1990s two successful great ape re-introductions have taken place in the Republic of Congo, leading some conservationists to revisit re-introduction as a strategy. This research explored the role of conservation education and…

The dorsal hippocampus is crucial for mammalian spatial memory, but its exact role in item memory is still hotly debated. Recent evidence in humans suggested that the hippocampus might be selectively involved in item short-term memory to deal with an increasing memory load. In this study, we sought to test this hypothesis. To this aim we developed…

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) are both structures with key roles in contextual fear conditioning. During fear conditioning, it is postulated that contextual representations of the environment are formed in the hippocampus, which are then associated with foot shock in the amygdala. However, it is not known to what…

In the present study, we analyzed mice with a targeted deletion of [beta]-catenin in DA neurons (DA-[beta]cat KO mice) to address the functional significance of this molecule in the shaping of synaptic responses associated with motor learning and following exposure to drugs of abuse. Relative to controls, DA-[beta]cat KO mice showed significant…

This experiment compared descriptions of concurrent choice by the stay/switch model, which says choice is a function of the reinforcers obtained for staying at and for switching from each alternative, and the generalized matching law, which says choice is a function of the total reinforcers obtained at each alternative. For the stay/switch model…

Food-deprived rats in Experiment 1 responded to one of two tandem schedules that were, with equal probability, associated with a sample lever. The tandem schedules' initial links were different random-interval schedules. Their values were adjusted to approximate equality in time to completing each tandem schedule's response requirements. The…

The paper draws upon empirical material from a two year qualitative research project. The paper briefly outlines the key research questions, research design and data collection strategies. The following sections draw on observational, interview and journal data from the learning sites and the teachers and students who work and learn in them are…

Nonfiction stories of animal compassion were used in this literacy-social studies integrated lesson to address both efferent and aesthetic stances in transmediation of text from picture books to maps. Preservice early childhood and elementary teachers chose places from the nine recent children's stories, symbolizing them on a map while…

"Science is a process of discovering and exploring the natural world. Exploration occurs in the classroom, laboratory or in the field. As part of your science class, you will be doing many activities and investigations that will involve the use of various materials, equipment, and chemicals…" (NSTA, 2010). Safety is always of utmost…

A number of experimental paradigms use in vitro brain slices to test for changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity following a behavioral manipulation. For example, a number of previous studies have reported a variety of effects of environmental enrichment (EE) exposure on field potential responses in hippocampal slices, but in no study was…

Short acquisition-extinction intervals (immediate extinction) can lead to either more or less spontaneous recovery than long acquisition-extinction intervals (delayed extinction). Using rat subjects, we observed less spontaneous recovery following immediate than delayed extinction (Experiment 1). However, this was the case only if a relatively…

Central nervous networks, be they a part of the human brain or a group of neurons in a snail, may be designed to produce distinct patterns of movement. Central pattern generators can account for the development and production of normal vocal signals without auditory feedback in non-songbirds. Songbirds need auditory feedback to develop and…

Song production in songbirds is a model system for studying learned vocal behavior. As in humans, bird phonation involves three main motor systems (respiration, vocal organ and vocal tract). The avian respiratory mechanism uses pressure regulation in air sacs to ventilate a rigid lung. In songbirds sound is generated with two independently…

Individual vocal recognition behaviors in songbirds provide an excellent framework for the investigation of comparative psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that support the perception and cognition of complex acoustic communication signals. To this end, the complex songs of European starlings have been studied extensively. Yet, several…

Two matching-to-sample (MTS) and four same/different (S/D) experiments employed tests to distinguish between item-specific learning and relational learning. One MTS experiment showed item-specific learning when concept learning failed (i.e., no novel-stimulus transfer). Another MTS experiment showed item-specific learning when pigeons'…