A study showed when mice were injected with a "drug-like molecule"called ISRIB their memory improved.
Researchers may be able to use biochemical pathways to improve memory in humans, according to the University of California. In the study, mice who had received the injection were able to locate a submerged platform three times faster than mice who did not receive it.
The injected mice were also able to remember cues associated with unpleasantness, which could condition a mouse to better evade predators. The new finding could even help aid in evolution.
"It appears that the process of evolution has not optimized memory consolidation; otherwise I don't think we could have improved upon it the way we did in our study with normal, healthy mice, said Peter Walter, PhD, UCSF the author of the study, professor of biochemistry and biophysics and a Howard Hughes Investigator.
Researchers were able to single out the chemical that changes the biochemical pathway within cells which is activated when they are unable to "fold proteins into their working forms."
Postdoctoral fellow Carmela Sidrauski, PhD found the chemical actutally goes beyond that, and activates a response called the integrated stress response. In this response "several biochemical pathways converge on a single molecular" protein called eIF2. alpha
All organisms "from yeast to humans" have different kinds of cellular stress which cause enzymes to shut off the eIF2 protein.
"Among other things, the inactivation of eIF2 alpha is a brake on memory consolidation," Walter said.
Removing the eIF2 decreases production of other proteins, which could be crucial in memory formation. On the other hand it can increase production of certain proteins that help cells cope with stress.
"ISRIB shows good pharmacokinetic properties [how a drug is absorbed, distributed and eliminated], readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, and exhibits no overt toxicity in mice, which makes it very useful for studies in mice," said Walter.
