MIT scientists have found a way to re-activate or retrieve old memories in mice that can not be retrieved normally. The process was done using opto - genetics - through which certain proteins of neurons are added that make them activated by light.
This scientific discovery was published on May 28 in Science. This research is very important and a logical answer to the amnesia memory loss problem.
This scientific discovery was published on May 28 in Science. This research is very important and a logical answer to the amnesia memory loss problem.
memory. Between the defect and the shield
Neuroscientists have been discussing for years about retrograde amnesia, which occurs after a specific injury or as a result of a disease such as Alzheimer's. Is this loss caused by a defect in certain brain cells so that the retrieval of memories is impossible or that the real reason is to block access to memory for one reason or another.
The answer, according to MIT's Susumu Tonegawa, is that memory loss is caused by a problem of access to it or the way in which it re-enters, not a nerve in the nerve.
If some nerve cells are stimulated by a stimulus such as a particular scene or scent, for example, the anniversary will be fully restored. These neurons are called Memory Engram Cells.
The answer, according to MIT's Susumu Tonegawa, is that memory loss is caused by a problem of access to it or the way in which it re-enters, not a nerve in the nerve.
If some nerve cells are stimulated by a stimulus such as a particular scene or scent, for example, the anniversary will be fully restored. These neurons are called Memory Engram Cells.
Experience
So far, no one has been able to show that these neurons undergo a phase of chemical changes when such a condition occurs. This is called Memory Consolidation or memory consolidation. One of these changes, known as long-term potentiation of LTP or long-term strengthening, requires synapses. These points are the structures that allow a group of neurons to send signals to each other as a means of learning and experience.
To see if these chemical changes actually occur, the researchers identified the Engram cells in the hippocampus, when activated with the tools of genetic optics can form or exhibit the formation of a memory.
When they then recorded the activity of this cell group, they found that these synapses showed an increased correlation intensity. "We were able to see and show for the first time that a specific group of cells in the hippocampus showed an improvement in synpatic strength," says Tungawa. "
The researchers then tried to discover what can be done without memories of this reinforcement. They did this via a compound called anisomycin, which blocks the synthesis of proteins in neurons, just after a group of mice form a specific memory. They thus prevented the strengthening of synapses.
The next day, the researchers attempted to restore this memory using an emotional stimulus. They did not succeed in that. "Even Ingram cells are still present, not completing protein synthesis means that the synapses will not be strengthened and will lose memory."
Remarkably, re-enabling protein synthesis using the same genetic optics techniques found that the mice themselves exhibited beneficial effects Restore the same memory.
To see if these chemical changes actually occur, the researchers identified the Engram cells in the hippocampus, when activated with the tools of genetic optics can form or exhibit the formation of a memory.
When they then recorded the activity of this cell group, they found that these synapses showed an increased correlation intensity. "We were able to see and show for the first time that a specific group of cells in the hippocampus showed an improvement in synpatic strength," says Tungawa. "
The researchers then tried to discover what can be done without memories of this reinforcement. They did this via a compound called anisomycin, which blocks the synthesis of proteins in neurons, just after a group of mice form a specific memory. They thus prevented the strengthening of synapses.
The next day, the researchers attempted to restore this memory using an emotional stimulus. They did not succeed in that. "Even Ingram cells are still present, not completing protein synthesis means that the synapses will not be strengthened and will lose memory."
Remarkably, re-enabling protein synthesis using the same genetic optics techniques found that the mice themselves exhibited beneficial effects Restore the same memory.
the future
"We propose here a new model, in which a group of Ingram cells form a path or a circuit for every memory," says Tungawa. This circuit includes several brain regions so that these cells are bound together and specifically to form a particular memory. "
It is important to note that the research also separates the mechanisms of storing and retrieving memories in general.
"Alcino Silva is director of the Integrative Center for Learning and Memory at the University of California, Los Angeles. "This characteristic paper suggests that these changes may not be important to memory and how they work, as we can believe, because under certain conditions it seems possible to change certain conditions [conditions on which the experiment is based] and still be able to store memory. Instead, its importance lies in the fact that the changes you identified are important in the memory recovery process. A strange process that neuroscientists have been fleeing for a long time. "
It is important to note that the research also separates the mechanisms of storing and retrieving memories in general.
"Alcino Silva is director of the Integrative Center for Learning and Memory at the University of California, Los Angeles. "This characteristic paper suggests that these changes may not be important to memory and how they work, as we can believe, because under certain conditions it seems possible to change certain conditions [conditions on which the experiment is based] and still be able to store memory. Instead, its importance lies in the fact that the changes you identified are important in the memory recovery process. A strange process that neuroscientists have been fleeing for a long time. "
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