Summary: Male worms can activate two conflicting memories—mating and starvation—when encountering the same odor, but only one influences their behavior. A study conditioned worms to associate the smell with both positive (mating) and negative (starvation) experiences, revealing that mating associations overrode avoidance behavior.
This flexible memory processing highlights how the brain prioritizes rewards over punishment under certain conditions. The findings provide insights into memory-driven behavior and offer a model for studying maladaptive processes in disorders like PTSD.
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