45.4 Orientation, Navigation, and Biological Clocks

Learning is a form of information processing in which experience shapes behavior. At a cellular level, it typically involves a change in the strength of connections between neurons. The central nervous system of even relatively simple animals is capable of extraordinary feats of information processing. The ways in which animal nervous and endocrine systems and the input of experience are integrated to generate adaptive behaviors are remarkable. Some of these adaptive behaviors include ways of moving, navigating, and keeping time, which we examine here.