TARGETing "when" and "where".

In Drosophila, the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway has been shown to be crucial for learning and memory, but whether this represents a developmental or a specific effect has not been resolved. Research with a new targeting system that allows both spatial and temporal control of gene expression shows that expression of rutabaga-encoded adenylyl cyclase, a component of the cAMP signaling pathway, in the mushroom bodies of adult flies is necessary and sufficient to rescue the learning defect of rutabaga mutant. This demonstrates an acute role for Rutabaga in learning and memory.