Mammalian mechanism of time-place learning clarified
10 Jun 2008
Researchers at the University of Groningen have found out how mammals establish a link between time and place.
We are all aware of the places you can better avoid in the dead of night. And we all know that the freshest, tastiest food can be bought at the open-air market early in the morning. In the animal kingdom, too, it is of the utmost importance to circumvent certain places at certain times (due to predators) and to visit others at other times (due to the availability of food).
Until recently, the exact way in which mammals established this link between time and place remained a mystery. However, researchers at the University of Groningen have finally unravelled the secret. Their findings were published in Current Biology on 3 June 2008.
Read the article (PDF, 855 kB)