A new study conducted in the USA revealed a new discovery about the human body. Experts have determined that memories are stored not only in the brain but also in different parts of the body.
Scientists examined how cells taken from nerve tissue and kidneys react to different chemicals, such as ‘neurotransmitter’ chemicals that carry messages between brain cells. These cells were exposed to different chemical signals for a certain period of time and it was monitored when the ‘memory storage gene’ would be activated. To determine this, experts engineered sampled kidney and nerve tissue cells to produce a protein that glows when it responds. These cells, which received various chemical signals for a certain period of time, activated the ‘memory-storing gene’, showing the behavior of brain cells to store memories.
Nikolay Kukushkin, the lead author of the study, said that learning and the ability to store memories are generally associated with the brain and brain cells, but this study shows that other cells in the body can do the same. Kukushkin also stated that the research offers new opportunities to understand how memory works and to treat memory problems.
