X-Message-Number: 25808
From: "Basie" <>
Subject: The cell cytoskeleton structure points to a physical basis for memory
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:06:58 -0500

It is my opinion that the cell cytoskeleton structure points to a physical 
basis for memory.

Basie
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Molecule Important In Cell Construction Also Critical In Learning And Memory
New Haven, Conn. - A family of proteins that help build the cytoskeleton, or 
the bones of the cell, also play an important role in learning and memory, 
according to a study published this month in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Marina Picciotto, associate professor of psychiatry, pharmacology and 
neurobiology at Yale School of Medicine, and the senior author of the study, 
studied mice missing one of these proteins- -adducin-and found the 
cytoskeleton developed normally. However, the mice were impaired during fear 
conditioning and memory exercises.

"We were hoping to find a mechanism that cells use to make short term 
changes in nerve cell communication permanent, but we were surprised that 
losing  -adducin made such a big change in both the nerve cell communication 
and in behavioral measures of memory," Picciotto said.

The focus of the study is long-term potentiation, which is a form of 
neuronal plasticity and may form the biological basis for some kinds of 
memory. Long-term potentiation refers to the fact that if two neurons in the 
hippocampus are active at the same time, the connection between them can be 
strengthened. This change, or potentiation, can last for hours to days. This 
may serve to lay a foundation for more permanent changes, such as the 
construction of new connections, or synapses, between the neurons.

"If you learn to do something new, your neurons have to adapt and change to 
create a stronger, more direct pathway between neurons," Picciotto said. 
"The protein  -adducin appears to be important for making those new 
connections."

In this study, the mice that did not have the protein were not able to 
strengthen a synapse in the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that 
enables us to remember people, places and things. "If the mice don't have 
 -adducin, they can't make a new map," Picciotto said. "It's not enough to 
just have the electrical properties, the skeleton is very important in 
making long-lasting changes between nerve cells that result in learning."

Citation: Journal of Neuroscience 25: 2138-2145 (February-2005)

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