Summary: Researchers know that when information first arrives at the hippocampus, it then either decides to forget or store that information for future use. It may send vital information to higher brain centers for long-term storage. It appears that for this process, long-term potential or LTP created by cofilin plays an important role. Researchers injected mice models with viruses that carried unique substances to the brain to prove this concept. This substance could be activated to release ROS and neutralize cofilin, thus preventing memory consolidation. Therefore, they could better understand memory consolidation, which may help treat memory loss in the future.
As dementia or Alzheimer’s continues to rise, there is an increasing need to learn more about how the brain functions and consolidates memories.
Loss of memory is one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s. People who are living with Alzheimer’s struggle to remember things in the long run. Not only that, but they also start to lose long-stored information or memories1.
Thus, it may all start with failing to remember important dates. However, as the condition progresses, one may even struggle to recognize the faces of close friends and even children.
Needless to say that preventing Alzheimer’s is the best strategy. However, some would even need treatment for reversal of memory loss. The development of such therapies is only possible if science knows precisely how long-term memories are created. For individuals facing memory challenges linked to chronic conditions, chronic pain specialists can play a crucial role in providing holistic care and management strategies.
When some vital document arrives in the office or at home, we inspect it and then store it in a safe place for later retrieval. The brain takes the same kind of approach.
When any vital information arrives in the brain, it is reviewed at the hippocampus, from where it is transferred to various higher brain centers for storage. This process of storing information for later use is called memory consolidation.
Studies show that a nerve activity called long-term potentiation or LTP plays a vital role in memory consolidation once the decision is made to store some information for the long term.
Recently, researchers in Japan carried out an experiment to confirm this concept and understand memory consolidation at a molecular level. They identified that a protein called cofilin plays a vital role in memory consolidation and transportation to higher brain centers. It means that inhibiting or activating this protein (cofilin) may alter the storage of long-term memories.
Knowing is one thing, but it is essential to prove the concepts in science. For this, researchers in Japan injected mice with carrier viruses that carried substances that can release reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a specific part of the brain and neutralize cofilin. However, this chemical released ROS only when mice were exposed to strong flashy light, quite like in the film Men in Black2.
By neutralizing cofilin, they could prevent LTP, and all with the help of a flash of light. This demonstrated the importance of cofilin and, more importantly, of LTP in the consolidation of memories. Once the LTP is subdued, lab mice failed to remember earlier events, especially those that occurred during the past 24 hours.
By disabling the memory consolidation, they could understand several things like the mechanism of storage of long-term memories and what mechanism might be damaged during memory loss in certain disease conditions. This may especially help find novel remedies for disorders like Alzheimer’s and even schizophrenia.
Of course, these are very early days. Nevertheless, science is progressing. Neurophysiology is one of the most complex subjects. It is pretty challenging to understand how the most potent supercomputer, the human brain, functions. Thus, each finding is a step forward in solving the mystery.
To conclude, this study demonstrated the exact mechanism involved in memory consolidation. Altering it may help weaken or strengthen long-term memory. But, of course, researchers now need to find out how to boost memory consolidation in those with significant brain damage.
References
- Jahn H. Memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2013;15(4):445-454.
- Goto A, Bota A, Miya K, et al. Stepwise synaptic plasticity events drive the early phase of memory consolidation. Science. 2021;374(6569):857-863. doi:10.1126/science.abj9195
