"HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cockroaches have a memory and can be taught to salivate in response to neutral stimuli in the way that Pavlov's dogs would do when the famed Russian doctor rang his bell, Japanese researchers found.

Such "conditioning" can only take place when there is memory and learning, and this salivating response had only previously been proven in humans and dogs."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070613/sc_nm/cockroaches_learning_memory_dc

Next question: How do you tell when a cockroach is salivating?

Amaranth asked:

"How do you tell when a cockroach is salivating?"

They get their handkerchiefs out of their pockets.

I tried to train a cockroach once, but the endeavor ended tragically.

Note of caution: What you and I might consider a 'love tap' can be viewed by the cockroach community as a fatal blow. Live and learn.

..."heavy petting" takes on a new meaning.
Incidentally, What does one train a cockroach to do? Roll over and play dead?

My father did his doctoral dissertation on cockroaches, and from what I understand of it, they trained cockroaches to come to a light. Their natural inclination is to avoid light. But I still wonder how you could tell a cockroach is salivating. Wipe its face on a tiny napkin, perhaps?

I trained her to disgust people. Things were going along so well.

I know what you mean, soilguy. I once trained a cat to speak. As you might imagine, it wasn't easy, but after much patience and persistence, I had it saying "meow" perfectly.

Soilguy wrote:

"I trained her to disgust people. Things were going along so well".

Hey. Don't be too discouraged Soilguy. Your training must have worked fairly well. The cockroaches here have picked up on the small amount of training you gave your pet. Example of epigenetics?

Perhaps. Or is this parallel or convergent evolution?

Yikes. What's more disgusting than a cockroach? A drooling cockroach, perhaps?

I know nothing about cockroaches. In fact, wouldn't know one end from the other, which could be a distinct disadvantage in this case. However...some snippets from http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jan/cockroach-consciousness-neuron-similarity :

'From this tedious analysis Strausfeld concludes that insects possess "the most sophisticated brains on this planet."'

'Neurosciences Institute (NSI) in San Diego, finds hints of higher cognitive functions in insects—clues to what one scientific journal called "the remote roots of consciousness."'

'"We have literally no idea at what level of brain complexity consciousness stops," says Christof Koch, another Caltech neuroscientist. "Most people say, 'For heaven's sake, a bug isn't conscious.' But how do we know?'

"Reichert's own studies of the brain's origin lead to a little-known ancestor, a humble creature called Urbilateria, which wriggled and swam nearly a billion years ago. The granddaddy of all bilaterally symmetrical animals, Urbilateria is the forebear of spiders, snails, insects, amphibians, fish, worms, birds, reptiles, mammals, crabs, clams—and yes, humans."

Soilguy wrote:

"Or is this parallel or convergent evolution?"

Well that would make it really interesting. Inheritance of acquired characteristics?