Scientists decode the mechanism of memory and forgetfulness

For the first time ever, scientists at Scripps Research have discovered a physiological mechanism in the brain through which memory is formed and then forgotten.

The scientists conducted the study on fruit flies. They conditioned the flies to associate a particular smell with an electric shock. Once trained, scientists observe that they then avoid this smell, which confirms that memory has been created.

They then monitored the activity of neurons in the brain during the conditioning procedure. In doing so, they were able to familiarize themselves with the physiological underpinnings of the arrangement of memory.

The first author, Jacob Berry, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow of the Scripps Research Campus of Florida's Neuroscience Department, said, "We believe this system is designed to remove unimportant memories that are not necessarily supposed to last a long time. I find it elegant that all this is done with the same neuron. Our document highlights exactly how this is achieved. "

For this study, scientists used imaging techniques to examine the process in more detail. They discovered that when a behavioral memory is degraded, the cellular changes made during the learning process are reversed by the same dopamine neuron that helped shape the changes.

Scientists have discovered that when the dopaminergic neuron is recruited to form a new memory, it also acts to degrade older memories.

The first author, Jacob Berry, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Campus of Scripps Research's Florida Neuroscience Department, said, "Every time you learn something new, you simultaneously create new memory while potentially interfering with it. with the old ones or by erasing them. It's a very important balancing act that saves you from being overloaded. "

Lead author Ron Davis, Ph.D. "For decades, neuroscientists studying learning and memory have focused on how the brain learns information and how that information is designed to be a source of information. stable memory, a process called memory consolidation. It is only recently that neuroscientists have understood the importance of active forgetfulness and have begun to understand the processes that lead to forgetfulness of the brain. "

Berry said, "This process of learning and forgetting helps to explain retroactive interference, a common observation in psychology. Retroactive interference describes the situation when more recent information prevents older information from being recalled, for example by calling your former boss by the name of your current boss.

According to scientists, the results will apply to higher organisms, including humans. The study not only provides new information on the brain mechanisms of active forgetfulness, it also offers a wonderful example of what we are learning about the brain function of laboratory animals like the fruit fly, Drosophila.

The study was published in Cell Reports.