By sensitizing the process by which neurons normally alter the strength of their connections, a molecule derived from a neuronal protein improves learning and memory in rats.
José Esteban at the Autonomous University of Madrid and his colleagues studied the effects of the molecule, FGL, on rats and on slices of the rat hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory. They showed that FGL caused persistent activation of signalling molecules in hippocampal neurons. This set in motion a chain of molecular events that increased the efficiency with which a type of receptor called AMPA was inserted into neuronal connections, or synapses. The incorporation of additional AMPA receptors into synapses is known to improve synaptic plasticity.
The authors hope that FGL could provide a starting point for the development of drugs that boost cognition.
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Cognitive boost to brain connections. Nature 483, 9 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/483009c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/483009c
