Feb. 27, 2013 — If you ask a rat whether it
knows how it came to acquire a certain coveted piece of chocolate, Indiana
University neuroscientists conclude, the answer is a resounding,
"Yes." A study newly published in the journal Current
Biology offers the first evidence of source memory in a nonhuman animal.
The findings have "fascinating implications,"
said principal investigator Jonathon Crystal, both in evolutionary terms and
for future research into the biological underpinnings of memory, as well as the
treatment of diseases marked by memory failure such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
and Huntington's, or disorders such as schizophrenia, PTSD and depression.
The study further opens up the possibility of
creating animal models of memory disorders.
"Researchers can now study in animals what was
once thought an exclusively human domain," said Crystal, professor in the
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts
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