Researchers at New York University have made a groundbreaking discovery: cells outside the brain, such as kidney and nerve tissue cells, can learn and form memories. This revelation, detailed in Nature Communications on November 7, 2024 (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53922-x), challenges long-held beliefs about memory being exclusive to the brain.
Memory Beyond the Brain
Memory storage has always been associated with the brain. However, this new research shows that other types of cells in the body can also process information and retain memories. According to lead author Nikolay V. Kukushkin, “Learning and memory are generally associated with brains and brain cells alone, but our study shows that other cells in the body can learn and form memories, too.”
Testing Cellular Learning: Cramming vs. Spacing
The research team explored the concept of cellular memory using a principle familiar to human learning: spacing information leads to better retention than cramming. In the lab, kidney and nerve cells were exposed to distinct patterns of chemical signals, simulating the way brain cells experience information. To track memory formation, the researchers engineered the cells to produce a glowing protein that activated whenever a specific "memory gene" was switched on.
The Body’s Hidden Learning Abilities
The experiments revealed an astonishing result: these non-brain cells could differentiate between repeated chemical pulses and continuous exposure. When the signals were spaced out, the cells activated their memory genes more robustly and sustained the activation for longer periods compared to continuous stimulation.
“This reflects the massed-space effect in action,” explained Kukushkin, who is a clinical associate professor at NYU Liberal Studies. “It shows that the ability to learn from spaced repetition isn’t unique to brain cells, but, in fact, might be a fundamental property of all cells.”
Implications for Health and Treatment
This discovery has far-reaching implications for understanding memory and health. It suggests that various parts of the body might have their own form of memory, influencing functions like how the pancreas remembers past meals to regulate blood sugar or how cancer cells adapt to chemotherapy patterns.
Such insights could revolutionize approaches to improving learning, treating memory-related conditions, and developing therapies for diseases that involve cellular memory across the body.
Glossary
- Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers that transmit signals between nerve cells.
- Memory gene: A gene activated during memory formation.
- Massed-spaced effect: The principle that learning is more effective when spread out over time.
- Neural tissue: Tissue that forms the nervous system.
Reader Comprehension Quiz
1. What types of non-brain cells did researchers study?
Cells from kidney tissue and nerve tissue.
2. How did researchers monitor the cells’ memory formation?
Through a glowing protein that indicated when the memory gene was active.
3. What is the massed-spaced effect?
The principle that information is better retained when studied in spaced intervals rather than all at once.
4. What happened when cells received spaced-out chemical signals?
They turned on the memory gene more strongly and for a longer time than with continuous exposure.
