learning and memory in fruit flies, a key function of the CREB (cAMP Response Element Binding Protein) gene was defined for the first time. The CREB gene encodes a protein which regulates the biochemical pathway that converts short-term memory to long-term memory - and it appears to function similarly in both fruit fly and in man.

Further functional genomic studies have identified a large number of additional genes that participate in this (and parallel) memory pathway(s). All of these genes are potential targets for the production of drugs that enhance or diminish memory formation.