KIBRA Molecule Identified as Key to Long-Term Memory Formation, New Study Reveals

According to a new study, the KIBRA molecule is essential for making long-term memories. This finding helps us learn more about the biological processes that make memories last for decades.

How KIBRA Helps Us Remember Things

The study, published in Science Advances, was led by scientists worldwide, such as SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University's Todd Sacktor and New York University's André Fenton. They discovered that KIBRA is a "glue" that holds other molecules together to strengthen memory formation. This is a significant change from earlier research that only looked at how individual molecules worked.

Fenton said that researchers had previously mostly examined how single molecules stored long-term memories. Their study showed how these chemicals work together to keep memories fresh.

The study looked at how KIBRA and protein kinase Mzeta (PKMzeta) interact. PKMzeta is an enzyme important for strengthening synapses, the connections between neurons where memories are kept. PKMzeta breaks down after a few days, but KIBRA stays at specific synapses and ensures that these links remain solid and stable for a long time.

Sacktor explained that the synapses involved in memory formation are triggered during the process, and KIBRA is placed explicitly in these synapses. He also talked about how PKMzeta then binds to the KIBRA-synaptic tag, which keeps the strength of these synapses. This process makes it possible for the synapses to stick to newly made KIBRA, attracting more newly made PKMzeta.

Experimental Evidence and What They Mean

Scientists tested lab mice and found that breaking the link between KIBRA and PKMzeta erased long-term memories. This shows how meaningful their relationship is in keeping memories over time.

Earlier studies showed that raising PKMzeta levels could improve weak or faded memories. This study shows that this effect happens because PKMzeta mainly works at KIBRA-tagged sites, which improves memory.

Fenton noticed that the persistent synaptic tagging process finally clarifies these results. These results are useful for treating memory problems in people with neurological and psychiatric illnesses. This new information could help us find better ways to treat Alzheimer's disease and other forms of brain decline.

The study's results also support Francis Crick's idea in 1984: a system like Theseus's Ship, in which new planks are added to replace old ones to keep the ship's structure over time. In this comparison, KIBRA and PKMzeta work together to update old memory storage parts, which keeps memories stable and long-lasting.

Sacktor compared how they found lasting synaptic tagging to replacing the planks on Theseus' ship, which ensured it would last for generations. This comparison shows how memories can last for years even though the proteins that keep them alive are constantly replaced.

The study was done by people from the University Hospital of Münster in Germany, McGill University in Canada, and the University of Texas Medical School in Houston in the United States. This shows how important it is for everyone to understand how memories work and find ways to help people with memory problems.

Finding that KIBRA is an important molecule in making long-term memories is a big step in biology. We now know more about how memories are stored and how they stay with us over time. This discovery also gives us new ways to study and treat memory loss. Scientists will keep looking into the brain to figure out how memories work. One important thing they will keep looking into is KIBRA and how it interacts with other molecules.