Mechanism Of Social Memory In The Brain

Differences in mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) of memory cells in the brain have been explored by a new study.

Have you ever faced difficulty recollecting the details of someone you recognize, but couldn’t recall their name or how you knew them? Well, the answer is in your pea-sized clump of neurons nestled in your hippocampus (brain region responsible for memory) that is working hard to connect the dots.

A specific region in hippocampus – CA2 is known to encode the social memories in mammals. Without it, mice can remember familiar inanimate objects – but not friends or foes they’d met before.

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‘Differences in mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) of memory cells in the brain have been explored by a new study, that helps deliver insights into social memories. ’

Further to this, the differences in mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) of these memory cells in the brain has been explored by a new study at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC with new five-year NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding.

The study is further exploring the diverse bioenergetic and molecular characteristics of CA2 neuronal circuits to learn more about how social memories are formed, stored, and forgotten.

Hippocampus and Social Memory

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“Impaired social memory is a phenotype of numerous neurological disorders, ranging from autism spectrum disorder to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. By unraveling the molecular nuances underlying healthy memory storage, we aim to pinpoint a host of potential interventional targets for neurodevelopmental, neurocognitive and neurodegenerative disease,” says Shannon Farris, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

The more energetically demanding the neurons, the bigger, and abundant are their mitochondria.

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On further exploration, the team found that within a single CA2 neuron, there were different types of mitochondria based on the organelle’s location, with distal dendrites harboring molecularly and structurally distinct mitochondria compared with more proximal dendrites of neighboring neurons.

“We know that different organs, tissues, and brain regions have unique mitochondria. But here we uncovered mitochondrial heterogeneity within a single brain cell,” says Farris, who also has an appointment in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

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The team hypothesizes that these unusual mitochondrial characteristics may be influencing this brain region’s plasticity – or ability to rapidly modify synapses, neurochemical portals that mediate communication between neurons.

With this unexpected discovery, the team further plans to dive more into the mitochondrial properties that are unique in influencing the social memory and behavior in mice.

Source-Medindia

Mechanism Of Social Memory In The Brain – Explored!

Differences in mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) of memory cells in the brain have been explored by a new study.