A gene, KDM5B, previously implicated in intellectual disabilities and autism, has been discovered to play a crucial role in regulating learning and memory processes in mice, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers from King’s College London, the University of Exeter, and the University of California Irvine found that reduced functionality of this gene in the brain leads to a loss of learning ability and memory, as well as a diminished capacity for strengthening neural connections essential for memory formation.
The study, named “The intellectual disability risk gene Kdm5b regulates long term memory consolidation in the hippocampus,” revealed that mice lacking a fully functional KDM5B gene exhibited impaired learning and memory abilities. One avenue involves the development of drug and gene delivery devices tailored to target and restore KDM5B function within the brain. To rule out any potential developmental effects, the team also decreased the gene’s expression in adult mice’s hippocampus, a brain region responsible for memory formation.
The results showed that reduced KDM5B gene function led to epileptic seizures in some mice and a deterioration of their learning and memory capabilities. Laboratory experiments indicated that the strengthening of neural connections during memory formation was significantly reduced.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
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