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Pavlov's moth: olfactory learning and spike timing–dependent plasticity

Spike-timing dependent plasticity is a favored synaptic mechanism for learning. However, a surprising new study by Ito and colleagues in the insect mushroom body suggests that it cannot account for a paradigmatic form of learning.

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Figure 1: Testing spike timing–dependent plasticity in a moth associative learning procedure.

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Meeks, J., Holy, T. Pavlov's moth: olfactory learning and spike timing–dependent plasticity. Nat Neurosci 11, 1126–1127 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1008-1126

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