News & Articles
Switching on a 'Memory Gene'
By Gina Shaw WebMD Feature
Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson
Originally published aug. 5, 2002
"We've been working on one particular gene called CREB, which seems to be an important 'switch' for a [nerve cell] to decide when to form long-term memory," Tully explains. "When you experience something new, it activates a circuit in your brain [that turns on CREB]." CREB, he explains, acts like a "general contractor of the brain," organizing and directing the growth processes that strengthen the connections among nerve cells in a particular circuit of the brain. "This, we believe, is [how we form ] long-term memory."
If scientists can develop drugs that stimulate CREB, then they could strengthen the formation of long-term memories in people with diseases like Alzheimer's. "It's not going to cure [the] cell death [that caused the problem], but it'll turn up the memory formation process in the surviving [brain cells] so that the person can function better during the course of the disease," Tully explains.
Reference : http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51843
Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson
Originally published aug. 5, 2002
"We've been working on one particular gene called CREB, which seems to be an important 'switch' for a [nerve cell] to decide when to form long-term memory," Tully explains. "When you experience something new, it activates a circuit in your brain [that turns on CREB]." CREB, he explains, acts like a "general contractor of the brain," organizing and directing the growth processes that strengthen the connections among nerve cells in a particular circuit of the brain. "This, we believe, is [how we form ] long-term memory."
If scientists can develop drugs that stimulate CREB, then they could strengthen the formation of long-term memories in people with diseases like Alzheimer's. "It's not going to cure [the] cell death [that caused the problem], but it'll turn up the memory formation process in the surviving [brain cells] so that the person can function better during the course of the disease," Tully explains.
Reference : http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51843
