Gonny Smit
As a Marketing Communication Specialist, I get to read, write, and learn a lot about behavioral neuroscience. I spend my days creating anything from videos and blog posts to website and leaflet content. Outside of the office, I love spending time with my horse, working out, and traveling.
Spatial and odor memory impaired mice – new model for Alzheimer’s
Plaques and tangles… those of you even remotely familiar with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will immediately recognize these hallmarks. But they are linked to familial AD, while sporadic AD is far more common.
How obese mice get moving
By a showing of hands: how many of you started this New Year with the resolution to get moving? Burn off those extra holiday calories, or finally really get in shape?
How optogenetics is used to study the stress response in zebrafish larvae
Stress might seem like a bad word, but it does have its perks. A recent study by Rodrigo J. De Marco uncovered the role of the pituitary in zebrafish larvae behavior after the onset of stress.
Autistic mice have motor learning difficulties specific to the cerebellum
Autism is often associated with social behavior deficits and repetitive behaviors. However, motor abnormalities are also a part of the behavioral spectrum. Recent studies have implicated the cerebellum.
Discrimination learning without human intervention or food restriction
Sylics recently introduced CognitionWall, a new paradigm for discrimination learning in the home cage that avoids the necessity for food restriction and handling in learning tests.
The power of rejection (in fruit flies)
Fruit flies have amazing sense of smell. This includes the ability to navigate to a food source, as well as search out a preferred mate. However, there are other areas in which their olfactory systems come into play.
The use of video tracking in a HaXha test
When you get used to something, after a while you might not notice it anymore. Like a sent. The lab of Justus Verhagen investigated sniffing behavior with video tracking.
How fruit flies find your food (and mates!)
Those tiny flies that take over your garbage cans during the summer? They are called fruit flies for a reason! They have a fantastic sense of smell and these tiny creatures are a popular animal model for researchers.
How sleep heals the brain
We sleep a large portion of our lives. And now researchers have proven that it can heal the brain.
How to capture the 3D swimming patterns of fish
Zebrafish have more in common with humans than meets the eye. This is why they have become a “go-to” model in neuroscience research. But one difference remains: we walk and they swim.