Your memories could be LOST if not for this protein #Brain #Memory

This was a little unsettling when I read an article recently posted by ScienceDaily.

You may already be familiar with the 2 different types of memory we have: short- and long-term. Do you find it difficult to sustain a memory for a long time? That's the case for me which I represented in a painting for my brain series called "Don't You Remember?".

Don't You Remember? (c) Michelle Hunter
http://hunterart.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-painting-dont-you-remember.html

Now there was a study done recently of Drosophila melanogaster flies and their formation of long-term memory cells. Exhibited were specific proteins that were produced in the nerve cells which then become synthasized. Securing the bond between existing neuron connections and forming new ones are necessary for the formation of long-term memories. It's speculated that those proteins are CPEB which is an abbreviation for cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein.

This is pretty neat! This research can lead to other large discoveries which can impact our we as humans coup with involuntary memory loss.

Read more about Dr. Krystyna Keleman's research here: http://www.imp.ac.at/research/research-groups/keleman-group/research/

Want to dig a little further into this research? Check out this article in the issue of Neuron (http://download.cell.com/neuron/pdf/PIIS0896627312007659.pdf) titled "Drosophila CPEB Orb2A Mediates Memory Independent of Its RNA-Binding Domain". It was written by a lead member of Dr. Keleman's team.**
To read the article posted by ScienceDaily, you can click here: The Fabric for Weaving Memory: To Establish Long-Term Memory, Neurons Have to Synthesize New Proteins
 

In my painting used in this post, it represents the brain as wire. Details like people, venues, activites, scents can be triggers for recalling a memory. I show that connection as a person trying to connect the wires to create a spark. Interested in purchasing a print? Visit  http://www.imagekind.com/Dont-You-Remember_art?IMID=30f3b25b-ee91-49f4-b9f0-af15f50b83b2

Michelle Hunter
Contemporary Artist
Tel: (646) 504-5034
www.hunterart.com
info@hunterart.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Brain Series of Paintings, so far: http://hunterart.blogspot.com/p/brain-paintings.html
Purchase prints to fit your space here: http://www.hunterart.imagekind.com
Contact me if you would like to purchase original paintings (info@hunterart.com / 646-504-5034).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facebook Page [facebook.com/hunterart]
Hunter Art Blog [hunterart.blogspot.com]
Twitter [twitter.com/artcoholic]
LinkedIn [linkedin.com/in/hunterart]

** Sebastian Krüttner, Barbara Stepien, Jasprina N. Noordermeer, Mieke A. Mommaas, Karl Mechtler, Barry J. Dickson, Krystyna Keleman

Neuron - 18 October 2012 (Vol. 76, Issue 2, pp. 383-395)