Cracking the Code of Long-Lasting Memories in the Brain

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered a novel feedback loop that explains how short-lived mRNA and proteins create long-term memories in the brain. The study found that a single stimulation to the synapses of hippocampal neurons triggered numerous cycles where the memory-coding Arc gene produced mRNA molecules that were then translated into synapse-strengthening Arc proteins. The feedback loop helps explain how short-lived mRNA and proteins create long-term memories in the brain.