The newly pinpointed genes found during a worm study are “turned on” by a molecule known as CREB (cAMP-response element-binding protein)” a factor known to be required for long-term memory in many organisms, including worms and mice. There is a pretty direct relationship between CREB and long-term memory and many organisms lose CREB as they age.
By studying the CREB-activated genes involved in long-term memory, the researchers hope to better understand why some organisms lose their long-term memories as they age. To identify the genes, the researchers first instilled long-term memories in the worms by training them to associate meal-time with a butterscotch smell. Trained worms were able to remember that the butterscotch smell means dinner for about 16 hours, a significant amount of time for the worm. The researchers then scanned the genomes of both trained worms and non-trained worms, looking for genes turned on by CREB.
The researchers detected 757 CREB-activated genes in the long-term memory-trained worms. The next step, said Murphy, is to find out what these newly-recognised long-term memory genes do when they are activated by CREB.
For example, the activated genes may strengthen connections between neurons. The research appeared in the journal Neuron. (IANS)