Taking longer to learn.
February 1st 2008 22:32
Signature Tune
News from Scientific American "links neurogenesis to short-term memory, which in the future could lead to a drug designed to stimulate nerve cell production and potentially counter memory loss in older adults".
"Neurogenesis (nerve-cell production) goes down with age … it's known that with old age there's a decrease in short- term memory," says Ronald Evans, a genetics professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif. "We know that if we can increase the process, we know what the consequence could be in the brain, which would be to increase short-term learning and memory."
"New experiences, new memories [and] new learning [are] greatly facilitated by neurogenesis," he adds. "Neurogenesis is in fact a fundamental feature of learning and memory. … Neurogenesis goes down with age; and, it's known that with old age there's a decrease in short-term memory."
Experiments were conducted with mice in which one allele of a specific gene was 'knocked out' The other allele was normal but was subject to being knocked out by Tamoxifen, a drug used in cancer treatment.
Once this second allele is incapacitated, mice showed greatly impaired function in comparison with normal mice which were able to find a platform in water on which they could rest whereas the modified and treated mice were still trying to find it twice as many days later.
Eventually they did learn but it took them a greatly increased amount of time.
Link to the full article is attached above.
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