It’s quite irritating when you try to remember something but you can’t, right? And for some people forgetting stuffs might be alarming and they might suspect there is something wrong with them, but a new discovery says forgetting is an essential process that helps maintain your mental health and well being.
Scientists from the University of Basel have discovered a molecule that helps brain forget unnecessary memory. This molecule called musashi protein is responsible for the function of the synaptic connections of the brain, where information is transferred from one neuron to the next one.
Scientists used olfactory conditioning to study the learning abilities of the genetically modified ringworm species C.elegans that lacked musashi protein. It was observed that mutant ringworms had same learning ability as normal ones but with extended duration of the experiment, it was discovered that the mutants were better able to remember new information than normal ringworms in which musashi was present. The worms lacking musashi protein were less forgetful proving that the protein molecule regulates the forgetfulness.
What this protein does is that it inhibits the synthesis of molecules responsible for the stabilization of synaptic connections, which plays the main role in the process of learning and forgetting .Further experimentation showed the mechanism that influences the whole process of learning and forgetting.
They discovered that a protein ‘Adducin‘ stimulates the growth of synapses and helps retaining the memory while musashi protein actively inhibits the stabilization of these synapses and facilitates memory loss. Thus, it’s the balance between the two that maintains this whole process and scientists further say that disruption of this process may result in serious mental disorders.
The discovery of this protein and memory regulation process will help scientists in development of drugs to prevent memory disorders and memory loss in diseases like Alzheimer’s.
[Source: The University Of Basel | Image via flickr]
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Reblogged this on 4t4m4t4 and commented:
we can not
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Reblogged this on Eric's Universe
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Well, this is good news for me since I tend to forget little things a lot and I was beginning to worry about it.
Now I know that musashi protein is taking and hiding them somewhere in my brain.
Sometime in the future, I might find all that unimportant lost knowledge and attain a higher level of enlightenment…or I might just remember where I put that pen I lost a few years back.
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No worries for you anymore 😀 Thanks! 🙂
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This is some welcoming news for me! I have a serious case of forgetfulness!
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Thank you! 😉
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Thanks 😀 for this info.
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Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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Welcome
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To remember too much – and by remembering to make even more connections between those things remembered – might take us too far in the direction of recognising the face of God. (A word I use not religiously but metaphorically).
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Yeah, you are right and being able to remember too much is nothing but stress 😦 Thank you for comment! 😉
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You can say that again I rarely forget anything.
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Reblogged this on Shining Star
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well I was going to write a comment but forgot what I was going to say! just kidding…..
enjoyed this post though…. 🙂
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OUTSTANDING!
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Haha, now I know what you meant 😀
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Thank you very much you made me literally laugh out loud, and my life sucks right now so it was a big help. I mean it.
b
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I am glad I could make you smile. 😀 and dont worry, I am sure your situation will improve soon, just dont ever lose hope. 😀
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Hmm ,what was I gonna reply? Oh yeah, thanks for the comment! Damn,that would mean something’s wrong with me?! 😛
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Funny (ironic) I always said ignorance is bliss but since I do not have an ABC before or an XYZ after my name no one listens until some book smart only egghead comes out and states it.
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BTW that being true… I am attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis.
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That happens to a lot of people (including me!). Anyway, dont take those people seriously who dont take you seriously and I dont know why you think you are scre**d (because if you forget stuffs then you are absolutly fine) 😛
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Oh, thank CHRIST! And I thought it was senility creeping on apace. 😉
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Now you can relax! 😉 While I was always rather good at remembering stuffs (and took pride in it, obviously), now time for me to worry! 😛
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Well if forgetting keeps us healthy, at my age I must be the fittest man around 🙂
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Good for you 😉 Thanks for commenting. 🙂
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So I’ve got the memory of a ringworm?
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Haha, maybe 😛 Kidding, you don’t, it was only the specimen to study the experiment for I don’t know which reason but scientists must have found it more suitable to study that in ringworm than humans.
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Wow, good news for me…better to be ditzy than crazy. lol ..very good! now i dont feel so bad about my life. I will smile more now, knowing that my brain is simply protecting itself.
Thank u for the post ~
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Oh, good to know but it’s exactly opposite for me, I don’t even forget something in years, must mean something’s seriously wrong with me 😛
Anyway, glad you like the post! 🙂
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This must mean I’m in great mental health. I forget things all the time. Thanks for sharing!
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Yeah, guess so. Thank you for the comment. 🙂
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Love the Musashi protein. Especially when you realise Musashi was a samurai with two swords! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi
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Oh, I didnot know. Interesting. 😛
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I only know because I’ve been called Musashi when wielding two scalpels!
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Reblogged this on Shambhala.
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This is great news for me! Smiles
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Thank you and keep visiting Sparkonit! 🙂
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