FRIDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- A new report finds that
where protein-destroying machines reside in the brain's nerve cells
may help determine how memories are formed, a finding that may play
a role in future treatments for Alzheimer's and other brain
diseases.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers studying
mice discovered that cylinder-shaped proteasomes, which help
control protein levels, play different roles in controlling synapse
strength depending on where they are in the nerve cells of the
hippocampus, an area of the brain linked to memory.
When humans or animals learn and store information in their
memory, these connections between cells become stronger or weaker,
Ashok Hegde, associate professor of neurolobiology and anatomy at
Wake Forest, said in a prepared statement. For example, if people
learn to do something better, such as playing softball, the
synapses that control hand-eye coordination will become stronger.
If they learn to ignore something, such as the barking of a
neighbor's dog, then the synapses that control paying attention
will become weaker.
The findings were published in the current issue of
Learning & Memory.
It is known that the degradation of proteins, which are made by
cells to control cell functions, plays an important role in memory
function. The team found that proteasomes in the dendrites -- the
branched parts of a neuron that conduct electrical stimulation --
limit the connection strength between cells. Proteasomes in the
nucleus, which contains the cell's genetic material, help maintain
synapse strength for long periods of time.
The researchers are now trying to learn how to block proteasome
activity specifically in the dendrites of mice to increase the
strength of synapses and of memory. In their ongoing studies, the
mice will be analyzed on how well they can learn to navigate a
maze.
"If we see a memory enhancement when we block the proteasome in
dendrites, we can use this strategy to treat memory loss," Hegde
said.
More information
The Alzheimer's Association has more about
current treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
