RGS14 – "The Homer Simpson gene"

To improve memory, the removal of extra genes will allowAlexey Tymoshenko, GZT.RU
Neuroscientists have discovered a gene whose shutdown dramatically improved the ability to learn and form new memory.

However, this has been tested so far only on mice.

The work describing the result of scientists' manipulations with the RGS14 gene appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers have found that transgenic mice with an inoperable variant of this gene are better at navigating mazes and memorizing new objects.

In some other tasks, the mutants obtained by scientists demonstrated similar abilities to ordinary rodents, and the study of the animal brain showed that the effects of removing RGS14 are limited to a relatively small area of the brain. The one that, among other things, is responsible for memory, primarily spatial. And besides – also for the consolidation of memories, the transition from short-term memory to long-term.

The stub gene

Researchers jokingly called the RGS14 gene the "Homer Simpson gene", after the character of an almost cult animated series with a dim-witted protagonist. Its activity, that is, the synthesis of the corresponding protein, in the cells of the hippocampus leads to the suppression of the processes of neuronal plasticity.

Simplified diagram of a part of intracellular mechanisms,
responsible for learning and memory.

Neuroscientists call neuronal plasticity the ability of a cell to change after the arrival of a nerve impulse into it, and to change for a long time. For example, in the area of synapses, contacts with other neurons, additional receptors responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses may arise. In a cell, after receiving a signal, the work of certain genes (the so-called "early genes" that turn on in the first hour) is activated, and all these phenomena have not yet been fully studied.

Cell Training and Repair

A day after placing the animal in an unusual environment or a new maze, biologists also discovered the appearance of new neurons. This phenomenon, called neurogenesis, has long ago (since 1992) put an end to the popular statement that nerve cells do not regenerate.

Although adult neurons themselves, most likely, cannot divide, cells formed from neuroblasts, whose population is supported by division, take the place of the dead.

The protein, which is encoded by the RGS14 gene, is active in a small part of the hippocampus, a structure responsible for several functions at once, of which memory and spatial orientation are particularly distinguished. In the CA2 field of the hippocampus, as a number of studies have shown before, there are also processes of memory transition from short–term memory to long-term memory - called simply memory consolidation.

Consolidation and Superpowers

A significant part of what we see is stored in short–term memory - for example, when reading this text, you will always remember at least two or three last words. But very quickly, a large proportion of information is filtered out, and after a few days there is even less – and, judging by the observations and experiments of doctors and scientists, it remains in a completely different form.

Hermann Ebbinghaus' classic experiment with memorizing words was not just the beginning of psychology as a science (1885).
He showed exactly how forgetting happens over time and that in the first day after training
the process of memory consolidation is most active. 

A person deprived of the hippocampus after an unsuccessful operation (this part of the brain was removed due to severe epileptic seizures) lost the ability to remember, but remained with his memory. He remembered what happened to him before the operation, but he could read the same newspaper for hours, completely forgetting the text after reading it. His memory consolidation did not work at all – but in experimental rodents with the "gene-brake" disabled, consolidation improved.

Why don't we have this?

Some people publicly demonstrate phenomenal memory – remembering, for example, 30 million digits. If these numbers are written on a graph paper, one in each cell, then the resulting sheet will be enough for wallpapering a small room, along with the ceiling.

If the RGS14 gene only slows down the brain, then why does it exist in both mice and humans? Won't genetic engineering help in the future to get rid of this brake, giving the opportunity, for example, to memorize the text by heart after the first reading?

There are no answers to these questions yet. There are only a few considerations that can be expressed on the basis of various research papers – although there are not so many of them yet, the PubMed search engine gives only three articles for a query like "learning + RGS14" (versus 946 for the c-fos gene, one of the most famous "learning genes").

For example, it can be assumed that the suppression of excessive activity in the hippocampus insures neurons from any pathological changes. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (and a number of other, less well–known ones) are associated with the death of nerve cells, their nature is still unclear - and experiments with mutant mice may not immediately show the harmful effects of disabling the gene.

Or maybe a decrease in activity in the hippocampus allows you to better filter what is sent to long-term memory: and living, remembering much more than usual, will be far from easier. New experiments, new genetic modifications of rodents and new approaches to research may well shed light on the role of the RGS14 gene in learning.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru13.10.2010