Memory, depression, insomnia and ... worms?

Researchers have spent decades searching for the cause of asthenia, schizophrenia and insomnia in humans. But a new study may have found the key to the origins of these diseases and other conditions by learning about a special research object: worms.

The project is directed by scientist Kenneth Miller of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). He investigated how only the microscopic worm can be observed, called C. elegans, to evade certain types of light. Researchers have made important findings, one of which is the discovery of paralyzed C. elegans if exposed to ultraviolet light that can restore its normal activity.

Miller 's team of OMRF has tracked the whereabouts of light response and discovered the tiny light - sensitive molecule encoded by LITE - 1. 'This light-sensitive molecule is unlike any other light-sensitive molecule previously discovered , ' Miller said.

Although humans do not have a heart-sensitive molecule, Miller's discovery also opened a door to find out how molecular signals in our neurons allow neurons to speak. conversation 'to create awareness, behavior, learning as well as memory.

Miller said: 'This does not mean that ultraviolet radiation on people in wheelchairs will suddenly make them walk. But if we have an application tool to solve the mystery of neuronal communication, it will help us understand everything from sleep, memory to depression. '

The study is published in the August 5 issue of PLoS Biology.

"Miller 's research has found a new way that organisms apply to perceive light, which is different from the light - sensing mechanism that our eyes use," said Michael Koelle of Yale Medical University. . It will be interesting to know whether the LITE-1 light-sensing mechanism provides new knowledge about human sensory perception. '

C. elegans worm has no eyes but reacts strongly to light.(Photo: ESA)

Although in-depth research on C. elegans has been conducted in hundreds of laboratories for 35 years , no one has been able to detect worms without eyes that can react strongly to light. Miller 's group discovered this reaction when they began studying paralyzed worms due to genetic mutations.

In previous studies, Miller and his colleagues in the OMRF have demonstrated that paralytic mutations break down the molecular pathway that controls how neurons send signals to each other at synapses - where Different neurons communicate with each other. That nerve cell pathway also exists in the human brain where it is thought to play a role in controlling behavior, learning, memory and may even contribute to disorders. nervous in humans.

"Without signals from this network, neurons cannot talk to each other or to muscle cells to generate movement," Miller said . So the mutated worms are just numb on the implant even if we stab it or poke it. '

But when Miller shone a short wavelength of light - such as ultraviolet light - on a paralyzed worm, it produced new signals in neurons that made animals move as soon as light shone on them. Such reactions have never been detected before in normal C. elegans worms because these worms have no difficulty in moving.

Miller means that C. elegans has been controlled to prevent direct light from damaging or even taking away their lives, including ultraviolet rays.

He said: 'If our bodies are only a few cells thick, sunburn means death'.

Miller emphasized that this research is only in the first stage. 'We are still very far from these research-based treatments, but I think we have opened a new door that we didn't know existed before. There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm excited to know how far this discovery will take us. '