How to rejuvenate an old brain
The activation of a single molecular mechanism ensures the formation of mature contacts between neurons, marking the transition of the brain from the receptivity of youth to the stability of adulthood. Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine, working under the guidance of Professor Stephen Strittmatter, managed to reverse this process, which increased the ability of the brain of adult mice to learn and repair damage.
The brain of a young organism is more plastic, which facilitates the learning process, including learning foreign languages, and accelerates recovery from injuries. The comparative inertia of the mature and even more senile brain is partly due to the work of one gene responsible for slowing the rate of disappearance of old and the formation of new synaptic contacts between neurons.
Monitoring of synapses of live mice, conducted over several months, allowed the authors to identify the genetic switch of brain maturity. It turned out to be the Nogo-1 receptor, which provides a transition from the high plasticity of the young brain to the relative inertia characteristic of the adult brain. The brains of mice that do not have the gene for this receptor retain high plasticity throughout their lives. Moreover, it turned out that blocking the activity of this gene restored the plasticity of the brain of old animals to the indicators of a young age.
Rehabilitation after brain injury or stroke requires patients to re-acquire skills such as, for example, the ability to move their arm. Scientists have demonstrated that adult mice without the Nogo-1 receptor recover from such injuries as quickly as young animals, and learn new complex motor skills much faster than adult animals with this receptor.
Experiments have also shown that mice without the Nogo-1 receptor forget unpleasant situations faster, which indicates the possibility of manipulating this receptor for the treatment of post-traumatic stress.
Article by Feras V. Akbik et al. Anatomical Plasticity of Adult Brain Is Titrated by Nogo Receptor 1 published in the journal Neuron.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Yale University:
Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old brain young.
07.03.2013