Learning more about the Brain.
November 29th 2007 22:12
Signature Tune
A protein in your brain called kalirin-7 is crucial to help you remember.
Researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered this.
Previous researchers found that kalirin levels are reduced in brains of people with diseases like Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.
"Identifying the key role of this protein in learning and memory makes it a new target for future drug therapy" said Peter Penzes, lead author of the study and assistant professor of physiology at the Feinberg School.
When you learn something new, kalirin bulks up the synaptic spines in your brain -- which resemble tiny, white mushrooms. The spines develop the more you repeat what you're doing.
It works the same way irrespective of the task being learned.
Synaptic spines are the sites in the brain where neurons (brain cells) talk to each other. "If these sites are bigger, the communication is better," Penzes said. "A synapse is like a volume dial between two cells. If you turn up the volume, communication is better. Kalirin makes the synaptic spines grow."
Kalirin's role helps explain why continued intellectual activity and learning delays cognitive decline as people grow older. "It's important to keep learning so your synapses stay healthy," Penzes said.
So everything that is being discovered seems to point us in the direction of brain exercise.
But, it is to be remembered, different types of activities follow different pathways, it cannot be recommended that repeating the same type of function is sufficient. That would just mean stronger pathways in particular areas at the sacrifice of the unused ones.
That way you have no alternative routes to fall back on.
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Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
That's really interesting. I mean we all know that exercising the brain is good for it. But to identify an actual protein that assists is interesting.
Kylie
Comment by tlcorbin-raginravensview