A new study published in Nature Communications reveals that memory-like processes are not exclusive to brain cells but can occur in other types of human cells. Researchers at the Center for Neural Science at New York University discovered that two types of non-neural cells, when exposed to specific patterns of chemical stimuli, exhibited memory responses traditionally associated with neurons.
The study aimed to investigate whether the molecular mechanisms underpinning memory formation in neurons could also be present in non-neural cells. The researchers used “massed-spaced” and “spaced” training protocols to test whether non-neural cells could differentiate between spaced and massed stimuli, a phenomenon well-documented in neuroscience.
The team engineered two types of human cell lines – one from nerve tissue and another from kidney tissue – with a “reporter” system that produced a glowing protein in response to memory-related activity. The researchers found that both cell types exhibited stronger and more sustained responses when exposed to spaced stimuli compared to massed stimuli, mirroring the massed-spaced effect observed in neurons.
The study’s findings suggest that memory mechanisms may stem from fundamental cellular processes, rather than being exclusive to brain cells. This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of memory and its role in the body, as well as potential applications in medicine and artificial intelligence.
According to lead researcher Nikolay V. Kukushkin, the study challenges the traditional view that memory is a feature unique to the brain and its neurons. While the experiments were conducted under highly controlled laboratory conditions, the findings provide a promising proof of principle for generic, non-neural cells using the same basic toolkit for memory formation as brain cells.
Future research will aim to investigate the broader implications of these findings, including potential applications in treating mental health diseases, creating realistic forms of memory in AI, and exploring new approaches to health and disease.
Source: https://www.psypost.org/neuroscientists-just-discovered-memory-processes-in-non-brain-cells/