"Smart" gene discovered: accelerates learning and memory

DNA bands. Photo by source

Neuroscientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have found a gene that makes animals smarter. They were able to create genetically engineered mice that were able to learn and memorize more quickly than normal mice. The researchers genetically engineered mice with an inactivated Cdk5 gene, which is involved in neural communication in the brain.

“What we’ve found is a whole new mechanism of how learning and memory is controlled,” said UT Southwestern’s James Bibb, one of the neuroscientists who led the study. “It’s those mechanisms that we’re now targeting for drugs.”

The mice were able to learn new paths and unlearn past associations faster through a standard maze used for testing learning and memory. The mice were able to negotiate and determine new changes in their environment such as when mild shocks were introduced in certain rooms. In addition, the mice were able to unlearn this association faster than normal mice when the mild shocks were removed or moved to another room.

In the future, the obvious benefit of this research would be to understand the creation of new memories for conditions such as Alzheimer’s and unlearning past associations for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Read more about this study: ‘Smart’ mice may provide insight into memory.