While the brain is commonly known to process and store memories, a new study reveals that other parts of the body may also store memory.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study could pave new ways for treating memory-related disorders.
“Other cells in the body can learn and form memories too,” said Nikolay V. Kukushkin, lead author from New York University in the US.
The researchers discovered that, similar to brain cells, non-brain cells can also activate a “memory gene” in response to new information.
In brain cells, the “memory gene” activates when they detect a pattern in information and restructure their connections to form memories.
To monitor the memory and learning process in non-brain cells, the team engineered these cells to produce a glowing protein that indicated whether the memory gene was active.
The experiment showed that non-brain cells could recognize when chemical pulses, mimicking bursts of neurotransmitters, were repeated. The process resembled the way neurons register new learning in the brain. They found that memory retention in cells was more efficient when information was spaced out, rather than delivered all at once.
When pulses were delivered at intervals, the “memory gene” activated more strongly and for a longer duration than when information was provided continuously, the team reported.
Kukushkin said the study revealed that the ability to learn from spaced repetition isn’t unique to brain cells. It “might be a fundamental property of all cells,” he added.
Besides offering new ways to study memory, the research suggests treating “our body more like the brain” to enhance health.
(Inputs from IANS)