Nagoya University collaborative research groups led by Prof. Ikue Mori from the Graduate School of Science and Prof. Kozo Kaibuchi from the Graduate School of Medicine succeeded in the world's first identification of a neural circuit for single-cell memory through analysis of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism.
Currently, synaptic plasticity has experimentally and theoretically been proven to be essential for memory formation. In this study, the researchers newly revealed the existence of a long-hypothesized "single-cell memory" mechanism and established its function at the molecular level following the development of a new primary culture system for this purpose.
Targeting the molecules that control this memory system is expected to further advance the discovery of drugs for treating neurological diseases.
This research achievement was published in Cell Reports on December 24, 2015.
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