| A group of Spanish scientists claim to have singled out a protein that can extend the life of visual memory significantly. When the production of the protein was boosted in mice, the rodents’ visual memory retention increased, from about an hour to almost 2 months. |
RGS-14: Will you remember what this protein looks like 2 months from now?
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| Unlike the long-term memory creation that was imaged recently, this memory extension only applies to memories made through the poorly-understood visual cortex of the brain. The scientists first removed from mice the portion of the brain believed to be associated with visual memories–layer six of the V2 region–and showed that the mice could no longer remember any object they saw. They then increased the production of a group of proteins–RGS-14–created in that cortex. The mice’s retention of visual images was increased almost 1,500 times.
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