Through a joint study between KAIST and the Korea Brain Research Institute, the secret that the adult brain maintains memory has been uncovered. Astrocytes constantly remove unnecessary synapses, and this process proves that excitatory synapses in the hippocampus, which are important for learning and memory, can maintain the circuit. The picture shows white astrocytes and blue microglia, which were recorded in the international journal Nature, removing synapses (normal synapses are green, synapses removed by glial cells are red). Photo = provided by KAISTResearchers in Korea have uncovered the secret that the adult brain maintains memory. According to KAIST on the 5th, the research team of Professor Jeong-Seok Won of the Department of Life Science and the research team of Dr. Hyung-Joo Park of the Korea Brain Research Institute are in a veiled adult hippocampus The cause of the reconstruction and its effects were identified.
The joint research team noted that’astroglia’, the largest number of glial cells that play various roles in the central nervous system, eat synapses during brain development and eliminate them. Through related research, the research team has proven that astrocytes constantly remove unnecessary synapses in the adult brain, and through this process, it is possible to maintain the circuit of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus, which is important for learning and memory.
In particular, by finding that astrocytes take the lead in removing excitatory synapses from the normal hippocampus rather than microglia called immune cells in the brain, it overturned the existing theory that microglia would be the main cells that remove synapses.
The research team also found that in mice that suppressed the synaptic elimination action of astrocytes through genetic modification, synaptic modification and memory formation in the hippocampus were problematic. The team explains that this means that if astrocytes do not remove unnecessary synapses, the brain’s normal learning and memory capabilities cannot be maintained.
The joint research team analyzed that the reconstruction of excitatory synapses in the adult brain by astrocytes is an essential mechanism for maintaining normal neural networks and forming memories. It is expected to be used in various studies on the maintenance of homeostasis of brain function and related neural circuits in the future.
An official from the joint research team said, “The abnormal level of synaptic number change is highly related to the prevalence of various neurological diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and various types of seizures.” Regulating the synaptic-eating phenomenon could be a new strategy to treat these brain diseases.”
The results of this study were published in the international journal Nature on December 23rd last year. Reporter Jang Jin-woong