A Gene that Impairs Our Memory

Researchers working with mice in Emory University discovered that a small manipulation in their genes can increase brain performance and boost memory. It is a gene that is present in both humans and mice. Pharmacologist John Hepler and his team studied CA2, a part of the hippocampus that, instead of participating in the learning and memory process, has neurons that are full of a protein that inhibits the communication between them. They found that mice bred to not have the gene for this protein, RGS14, did better in memory tests with no observable negative side effects. Serena Dudek, a neuroscientist, says if this gene that "makes us dumber" has remained with natural selection, then there must be some reason for it, and maybe the downside just hasn't been found. Neurobiologist Alcino Silva agrees, saying that when one thing is enhanced something else must be diminished.

This article presents an example of hypothesis science. The scientists were looking for something that affected memory (the protein), and then carried out experiments to see which gene produced it. Once they found it, they hypothesized that removing this gene would improve the memory of these mice. Their theory seems to have been correct so far. If this technique was perfected, and confirmed to have no negative side effects, the possibilities of applying it to human medicine would be endless. In the future, advanced treatments that target this gene or protein specifically could be used for learning or memory disabilities.

Bibliographic Citation
Ferris Jabr. Knocking Out a "Dumb" Gene Boosts Memory in Mice. Scientific American.February 15, 2011.  1 page
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=handicapped-by-our-genes