Dr Sorg's colleague, Professor Kenneth Lukowiak from the University of Calgary in Canada had previously identified the one critical cell, or neuron, in the brain of these snails that is crucial to learning and remembering how to regulate their breathing.

This cell releases a signalling chemical called dopamine; a chemical that, in mammals, is involved in the brain circuitry associated with addiction.

"That's why we decided [this snail] would be a good system to study," said Dr Sorg.

"Now we want to look in that brain cell and find what has changed. It's a big task but some recent studies in our lab point to changes at the level of the cell's DNA that are caused by the drug."

The researchers say that this work lays the foundations for ultimately targeting memory in the treatment of drug addiction and other disorders, such as post traumantic stress disorder.

The ultimate idea would be to target specific memories - these pathological memories - to be forgotten or diminished.

Dr Sorg concluded: "If we know something about how these memories are formed, and just as importantly, how they're forgotten, and if we can understand something about the process that promotes forgetting in a single cell, we might be able to translate that to higher animals, including humans."

Professor George Kemenes from the University of Sussex, studies memory in molluscs in work that is funded by the UK's Medical Research Council.

"Molecular level findings in snails can be highly instructive for learning and memory research in mammals, and can help us to understand how humans learn and remember," he said.

Snails have also been used to study Alheimer's and possible causes.

Scientific research is very very rarely correctly summarized for the general public. Studies which sound stupid often are aimed at a very specific question, which isn't easily phrased or put into context.

I'm not a biologist, but having a simple organism which exhibits any reaction similar to that in humans would allow them to get a handle on where to start looking for how the drug works. There are probably also groups working on biochemistry and nervous system of snails, which would explain why they chose snails.

An example I do know something about is the question of morphogenesis. We start as one cell, which splits and splits and splits. There has been a lot of work tracing the heritage of each cell in simple worms. Seems silly maybe, but knowing how a simple organism develops gives insight into the process. There's a feeling that things like nervous systems come in so many configurations and yet do such similar things that there should be some relatively simple principle involved. Like the link between DNA and proteins in cells.

the high produced is like nothing else.  it absolutely does increase cognitive ability so its easy for me to believe it makes them learn and remember.  as far as remembering the crash, I think that could be like many unpleasant things and be conveniently blocked.  as I get older I am more and more amazed how efficiently people block things they just dont want to remember.

I thought it was sort of interesting.