Snail Memory Study Offers Hope To Trauma Victims
by Alex Dobuzinskis for the Post Chronicle.
Scientists have managed to erase memories in common marine snails, a finding that could lead to new treatments for human victims of post-traumatic stress disorder, the researchers said on Tuesday.
In a study conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles, neuroscientists demonstrated that blocking the activity of a key enzyme kept the Aplysia snails from cringing when touched in a once-painful spot.
They reasoned that blocking the same enzyme in people might help erase painful memories and could even have implications for Alzheimer’s disease and drug addiction, two other ailments tied to memory.
The study, reported by UCLA on Tuesday, was due to be published on Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience.
“This has implications for psychiatric disorders that are related to memory,” David Glanzman, senior author of the study, said in a statement. “Post-traumatic stress disorder is a hyper induction of a long-term memory that won’t go away.” read the entire article here