Key Molecules involved in forming long-term Memories

We are not moving at this time although you can find us in both places here and at http://mhcd.org/blog make sure you check out both sites. In this article it says they have found the molecules that form long-term memories. It can help with Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. “There are many drugs available to treat some of the symptoms of diseases like schizophrenia… ‘but they don’t treat the cognitive deficits that patients have, which can include difficulties with memory. This study looks for more specific targets to treat deficits in cognition.” If you read in the internet about people with schizophrenia it is clear that they have cognitive problems. Memory is one of them. It would help people with schizophrenia find jobs and just have a better life if they can make drugs that could help.
The article says: “… the study focused on a group of proteins called nuclear receptors, which have been implicated in the regulation of a variety of biological functions, including memory formation. Nuclear receptors are a kind of transcription factor, proteins that can bind to DNA and regulate the activity of other genes. Their regulatory role may be significant in memory formation, as a gene transcription is required to turn short-term memories into long-term lasting ones by strengthening neuronal synapses in the brain.” These receptors are responsible for regulating functions which in turn has an impact on memory formation. Somehow these must not work in people with schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.
To identify how this work they used trained mice. “…using a common method to create memories of a place and event, in which animals learn to associate a particular context or a certain tone with a specific experience. Associations with a place or context are believed to be encoded in the hippocampus, while memories associated with a cue such as a tone are believed to be encoded in the amygdala.” A tone would bring up a certain thing that the mice had been to or done before. “In the 24 hours after exposing the mice to the initial training, the researchers examined expression patterns of all 49 nuclear receptor genes. They found 13 that increased in expression in the hippocampus in the first two hours after training. Included in this group were all three members of a class of nuclear receptors called Nr4a. Nr4a genes had previously been found to increase in expression upon use of a memory-enhancing class of drugs called histone deacetlylase inhibitors, HSDAC inhibitors. They were able to find the genes that work on memory.
The article goes on to talk about how they were able to do this: “The scientists next created a transgenic mouse in which they could selectively block the activity of the three Nr4a genes. Having the transgenic mouse is very useful… ‘We can manipulate it so that Nr4a genes will only function in certain brain regions and then see how the mouse memory-forming ability is affected. When the researchers exposed the mice to the training context a second time, they found that the transgenic mice had reduced memory of the location where the training tool place-memories that are located in the hippocampus- compared to normal mice. In contrast, the mutant mice’s amygdala-associated memories of cue- the tone played during training remained intact. The mice had impairment for contextual memory, which means something in the hippocampus is affected… ‘That is the type of memory that goes away in Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.” They found where and how this is affects memory. Hopefully their research can lead to better drugs for both diseases. The researchers also found out that the mice’s short-term memory was not affected.
The last part of the article says: “In addition, the scientists confirmed that Nr4a genes play a role in long-term memory storage by injecting the Nr4a-deficient mice with HDAC inhibitors, which have been shown to enhance memory in normal mice. The treatment did not enhance the memory-forming ability of the mutant mice, suggesting that the drug acts upon the Nr4a genes to boost long-term memory storage. Finally, the researchers screened mice for molecules that act ‘downstream’ of Nr4a and could be part of the signaling cascade by which those nuclear receptors help create long-term memories. They found two genes, Fosl2 and Bdnf1, that appeared to be downstream targets of Nr4a genes and also increased in expression following treatment with HDAC inhibitor.” When all is said and done they found the targets that could help bring new drugs to help people. They do not say if they will need more research or if what they found can help enough. I like when they can find new things to enhance memory.
I wrote about this it is because memory to me is very important. It is one thing I do not want to lose later in life. I started back on the memory program and today I did an assessment on the computer and scored better than the last time I did an assessment. I can remember numbers like a phone number or any set of numbers. Although I cannot remember math, my tutor when I was in college would say he remembers how to do the problems, although when he comes back the next morning it is all gone. I do not remember hardly any of my childhood except things or days that stood out. I know the math is because of my schizophrenia, because in high school and earlier I was good in math. So something happened.

Memory

This is a very good subject whether or not you are mentally ill. I received this article on How memory works. They say in the article that: “There are three stages to making and recalling a memory: Encoding, Storage and Retrieval of information.” It also says: “Memory only works if you are paying attention.” That is so true. When you are not paying attention or just a little attention you cannot recall everything that was said. My memory of numbers works the best for me.
All I have to do is repeat a number once and I will remember it. That has been all my life. Before cell phones and contact list on a cell phone. I did not have a phone book. All the number s of people and there were a lot. I could recall your number by just being told your phone number. I still do work on my memory though. The reason is I am very scared of getting Alzheimer’s. The reason is I want to always be independent and remember to take my medication. As I said in previous blogs, I do not like being sick from my mental illness.
My previous boss had me put a memory program on my computer to test if it worked. I work with it twenty minutes a day. It does help and my favorite part of the program is jewels hidden by fish and you have to track them. I have been able to track up to six jewels at a time. My memory is nothing compared to my grandsons though. He can remember six months back when we went to a restaurant. He can remember where everyone was sitting the last time we came to that restaurant.
The article also says: “The more you practice or remember something the stronger the connection gets, and the easier it is to remember.” That must be the reason I only have to repeat numbers once. I am going to close with a link to “10 Famous people who Battled Alzheimer’s.

Depression or Change of Life

I was wondering about something someone said to me about my attitude. I stay home on the weekends, I don’t have a night life and I don’t drink alcohol or do drugs. I have done these things most of my life, and had nothing to show for the party life until a few years ago. I changed my life style, due to respect for myself as well as others yet, I began wondering after the comment was made about how depressing I must be, that I had to be sure I wasn’t just suffering from any of the symptoms of depression, especially at my age. I realized I am just another one of those different kinds of people, who wants to change their life. The symptoms I have brought to life from several web sites can create a mode of fear, yet in the reality of those who suffer, there is hope, if they reach out and let others guide them:

“One in four older people have symptoms of depression that require treatment. Part of the problem is that depression in older people is hard to untangle from the many other disorders that affect older people, and its symptom profile is somewhat different from that in other adults.
Physical illness increases the risk of depression. Evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and clinical investigation demonstrates that depression is a disorder of the brain. Modern brain imaging technologies are revealing that in depression, neural circuits responsible for the regulation of moods, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior fail to function properly, and that critical neurotransmitters -- chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate -- are perhaps out of balance.”
“Symptoms of depression include a persistent sad mood; loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed; significant change in appetite or body weight; difficulty sleeping or oversleeping; physical slowing or agitation; loss of energy; feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt; difficulty thinking or concentrating; and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder (or unipolar major depression) is made if an individual has five or more of these symptoms during the same two-week period. There are many barriers to the diagnosis of depression in late life. Some of these barriers reflect the nature of the disorder: depression occurs in a complex medical and psychosocial context. In the elderly, the signs and symptoms of major depression are frequently attributed to “normal aging,” atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, or any of a host of other age-associated afflictions. Psychosocial antecedents such as loss, combined with decrements in physical health and sensory impairment, can also divert attention from clinical depression.”

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/depressionresearch.htm http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter5/sec3.html
Donald Sammons