Watching molecules morph into memories: Breakthrough allows scientists to probe how memories form in nerve cells
Date:
January 23, 2014
Source:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Summary:
Scientists have used advanced imaging techniques to provide a window into how the brain makes memories. These insights into the molecular basis of memory were made possible by a technological tour de force never before achieved in animals: a mouse model in which molecules crucial to making memories were given fluorescent “tags” so they could be observed traveling in real time in living brain cells.
In two studies in the Jan. 24 issue of Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University used advanced imaging techniques to provide a window into how the brain makes memories. These insights into the molecular basis of memory were made possible by a technological tour de force never before achieved in animals: a mouse model developed at Einstein in which molecules crucial to making memories were given fluorescent "tags" so they could be observed traveling in real time in living brain cells.
Efforts to discover how neurons make memories have long confronted a major roadblock: Neurons are extremely sensitive to any kind of disruption, yet only by probing their innermost workings can scientists view the molecular processes that culminate in memories. To peer deep into neurons without harming them, Einstein researchers developed a mouse model in which they fluorescently tagged all molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) that code for beta-actin protein -- an essential structural protein found in large amounts in brain neurons and considered a key player in making memories. mRNA is a family of RNA molecules that copy DNA's genetic information and translate it into the proteins that make life possible.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 141711.htm