Introducing the brain: negative memory controls (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, April 29, 2020, 22:36 (1458 days ago) @ David Turell

An example of how neuropeptides work:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-molecular-crucial-role-negative.html

"Neurobiologists at KU Leuven have discovered how the signalling molecule Neuromedin U plays a crucial role in our learning process. The protein allows the brain to recall negative memories and, as such, learn from the past. The findings of their study on roundworms have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

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"The researchers studied the roundworm C. elegans and found that the protein Neuromedin U plays a key role in recalling negative memories. It acts as a signalling molecule allowing the neurons to communicate with each other.

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"Inactivating the gene responsible for Neuromedin U changes the worms' behaviour, says doctoral student Jan Watteyne, lead author of the study. "We found that the protein plays a very specific role in the learning process: it ensures that the worm is able to learn from past experiences. If the worm encounters a salty environment without food, it will avoid the salt on future occasions. However, if we temporarily block Neuromedin U, the worm forgets this first experience and will be drawn to the salt again. This means that the protein doesn't help to make the association, but it does help to recall it."

"'It's clear that the signalling molecule Neuromedin U plays a crucial role in learning and memory, and more specifically the retrieval of negative memories. This leads us to suspect that other similar molecules, so-called neuropeptides, also perform these specific functions."

"'Our findings in worms are a good starting point for further research into the cognitive functions of other animals. We know that Neuromedin U is also found in many other organisms and in the human brain," says Professor Liliane Schoofs. "A good knowledge of these basic mechanisms is, therefore, crucial to better understand the complex processes in the human brain.'"

Comment: It seems all brains have the same basic properties, but vary greatly in thought capacity as the human brain shows. Communication by ion electric currents is basic to brain processes, but the neurons are also influenced by many different neuropeptides.