'Smart' mice show brain disorders

Genetically engineered mice lacking single enzymes in the brain are more adept at learning than their siblings, and quickly identify the changing environment.

Based on the results, which appeared in an online publication of Nature Neuroscience , the researchers revealed a new learning mechanism in the brain that can serve people as a goal in treatment of disorders such as post-war syndrome, Alzheimer's or drug addiction. Dr. James Bibb, associate professor of psychiatry and former author of the study, said: 'It is quite rare to make mice "smarter", so there are many connotations. concern about awareness here. '

He said: 'Everything has become more meaningful for these mice, their increased sensitivity to their surroundings seems to make them smarter.'

The mice are more adept at acquiring and remembering and finding tangled swimming pools, underwater mazes; where they swam across and remember that I was placed in a certain box even a slight impact. Dr. Bibb said, more importantly, that when the situation changes, like the underwater labyrinth swimming lanes are redesigned, the mice are redesigned much faster; recognize everything else, and make a new route.

Scientists participated in the study
(Photo: Sciencedaily)

Dr. Bibb notes, while receptive mice learn faster, studies based on the long-term results of brain enzyme removal (also called Cdk5) continue to progress. onions. The group is also beginning a study of drugs that can be made effectively without using gene manipulation and animal health and behavioral tests.

This discovery can be used in the treatment of post-war syndrome , which forces patients to learn once a threatened situation once no longer makes them frantic, new danger is the main purpose.

"In addition, Cdk5 has great implications for Alzheimer's disease and drug addiction due to abuse, so understanding how enzymes act on the brain and behavior can assist in the development of New treatments for this disease and other diseases, " Dr. Bibb said.

The main thing in this study is that it is possible to ' knock out ' the only Cdk5 gene in the brain and only when the mice are adults. This technique, which has just been developed and is called a conditional knockout, allows experiments to be much more sophisticated than the traditional slamming of all these genes. .

Dr. Bibb said, 'Being able to turn off the gene function throughout the brain is really an advanced thing to do, it shows that it is possible, but we put the system together and on. practically applied it. '

Normally, Cdk5 works together with other enzymes to break down a molecule called NR2B, found in the membrane of nerve cells and stimulates the cell to heat up when a molecule transmits signals to neurons or The machine transmits nerve signals attached to it. NR2B has been involved in the early stages of pre-cognitive acquisition.

"Research proves that when Cdk5 is removed from the brain, the position of NR2B increases significantly, and the mice are forced to absorb cognition," Dr. Bibb said.

The researchers also recorded the burning of nerve cells in seahorses, a range of brain that supports cognitive acquisition. Thin slices of seahorses from anesthetized mice react to much stronger electromagnetism, which further corroborates the discovery that mice are more ready to acquire awareness.

Danh Phuong