A recent study of the formation of memory in infants rats conducted by researchers at the University of New York for Neural Science Centre ...
A recent study of the formation of memory in infants rats conducted by researchers at the University of New York for Neural Science Centre emphasizes learning the functional development of the brain the importance of critical periods in early life.
The research emphasizes learning about the importance of experience during the first two to four years of life; This is when we forget to think fast the memories of a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia.
"The use of learning and environmental measures on a development critical period -a period in which the nervous system reacts to particularly sensitive help on the environment strong stimuli-appropriate learning problems."
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"What our results tell us that the brains of children need to receive sufficient and healthy activation, even before kindergarten," explains Cristina Alberini, a professor in the NYU Center for Neural Science, who led the study. "Without this the neurological system does not properly perform learning and memory functions."The other authors of the study, in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine Mount Sinai Icahn, including: Travaglia Alessio, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of New York; Bisaz challenge, a researcher at the University of New York at the time of the study; Eric sweet, a postdoctoral fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Robert Blitzer, a professor at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Icahn.
Was published in his study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers investigated the mechanisms of memory - the newborn rats - born say memories created 17 days after birth. This corresponds to the man at the age of three years and the memories of who, what, when and where they quickly forget memories-- episodic --known. The phenomenon is called "infantile amnesia or childhood" is, adults inability to retrieve episodic memories in fact, availed during the first two to four years.
To resolve this issue, Alberini and colleagues compared the "childhood memory in rats when 24 days old, which is when they are able to form, and to maintain long-term memories and an age more or less for humans six corresponds to nine.
Episodic memory in rodents tested was the memory of aversive experience: mild received foot shock when entering a new location. Adult rats as people remember unpleasant or painful experiences they had in certain places, and to avoid to return.
To do this, the rodents were in a box placed in two compartments divided: a specialist of "shock", "safe" and a magazine. During the experiment, each rat in the security container was placed back in the door with his head. After 10 seconds, the door between the compartments open automatically access rat in emergency room allows. If the rat went into shock room, got a slight bump on his feet.
The first set of results was not surprising. The authors found infantile amnesia for 17 days old rats Avoidance demonstrate "crash" only after the experience, but they lost that memory very quickly: One day later, the rats are returned quickly in this compartment. Unlike a shock exposed rats learned at 24 days of life trade and preserve the memory for a long time and this place obviously to avoid a similar memory of adult rats.
But surprisingly, the youngest, who had the first experience obviously forgotten later showed that the rats actually had kept a memory trace. If later in life, these rats a reminder, that presented the context memories and feet strokes indicating that a particular memory that has been disclosed by their connection with the avoidance appears, specifically in which they the 17 days of life a shock. These results demonstrate the life experience of the early, although it is not expressed or recall to can influence the behavior of adult life.
The results raise the question: What happens neurologically why the memories of younger rats are kept in a latent form, but will be saved and brought the long term by the elderly to express? Or especially more so that the ability to form lasting memories, occurs during development that improves?
To solve this problem, the researchers have focused on the brain's hippocampus, which previous research has shown for encoding new memories episodic need. Here, in a series of tests similar experiences field, they found that when the hippocampus was inactive, latent form the ability of young rats memories and retrieve them from memories of how they were dropped by more later. Then they found that the mechanisms of the "critical times" are essential for the implementation of these childhood memories.
A critical stage is a stage of development where the nervous system to environmental stimuli is particularly sensitive. If during this period the body does not receive the appropriate stimulus required to perform a given function, it may be difficult or impossible to develop this role in the future. The best known examples of critical functions in the base period are the sensory functions, such as vision and language acquisition.
The study shows that it is a critical time for episodic learning and that the hippocampus during this time can be able to effectively treat and store long-term memory. "Early in life, when the brain can not effectively train the long-term memory, is to" learn "how to do, so it is possible, the ability to establish long-term saving," Alberini said. "However, the brain stimulation through to learn so that they can get into the practice of memory formation, is assigned to the ability without these experiences to learn from neurological system."
These studies, the researchers note, suggest that the use of learning and environmental measures during the critical stage can help greatly suitable learning problems. The research was funded in part by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH074736, R01 NS072359), part of the National Institutes of Health and the Agalma Foundation based in Geneva.
Source: Newswise
