Drug targets for improving memory – Here’s what a recent study suggests

Bristol: Specific drug targets in neural circuitry that encode memories and pave the way for significant advances in the treatment of a wide range of brain disorders have been identified by new research led by the University of Bristol. Memory loss is a hallmark of many neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Current treatment options for memory loss are very limited, and the search for safe and effective drug therapies has so far had limited success. The study was published in Nature Communications. The research was carried out in collaboration with colleagues from the international biopharmaceutical company Sosei Heptares. The results identify specific receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that redirect information flowing through hippocampal memory circuits. Acetylcholine is released in the brain during learning and is essential for the acquisition of new memories. So far, the only effective treatment for the symptoms of cognitive or memory impairment seen in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease is to use drugs that largely stimulate acetylcholine. However, this leads to multiple unwanted side effects. The discovery of specific receptor targets that have the potential to produce positive effects while avoiding negative effects is promising.

Lead author Professor Jack Mellor, Center for Synaptic Plasticity, University of Bristol, said: “These findings relate to the fundamental processes that occur in the brain during memory encoding and how they can be regulated by brain state or drugs targeting receptor proteins.

In the long term, the discovery of these specific targets opens up avenues and opportunities for the development of new treatments for the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions with significant cognitive impairment. The academic-industry partnership is important for these discoveries and we hope to continue working together on these projects. “

Dr Miles Congreve, Scientific Director of Sosei Heptares, added: “These important studies have helped us design and select new, highly targeted therapeutic agents that mimic the effects of acetylcholine on specific muscarinic receptors, without triggering the effects. undesirable side effects of less well-targeted treatments. This approach has the exciting potential to improve memory and cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological diseases.

“It’s fascinating to see how the brain prioritizes different pieces of information, determining what is important to encode in memory and what can be discarded. We know there must be mechanisms to extract the things that are important to us, but we know very little about how these processes work. Our future work program aims to reveal how the brain does this by using acetylcholine in tandem with other neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, ”said Professor Mellor.