Methods of evaluating a compound for the ability to reduce a mental defect in a metazoan are provided, where the mental defect is caused by Fragile X syndrome, a tauopathy, Huntington's disease, neurofibromatosis 1, Parkinson's disease. The methods comprise determining whether the compound reduces a mental effect of the analogous disease in a Drosophila melanogaster. Also provided are methods of evaluating a compound for the ability to improve learning or memory in a mammal. The methods comprise determining whether the compound improves learning or memory ina Drosophila melanogaster that is deficient in a dFRMl. Additionally, methods of treatment of a mammal deficient in expression of an FMRl gene are provided. The methods comprise treating the mammal with a compound in a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, where the compound inhibits expression or activity of a group II or group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR), an inositol trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R), a glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß), or a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) in the mammal.
DROSOPHILA MODELS FOR DISEASES AFFECTING LEARNING AND MEMORY