Learning and Memory Suppressors

背景：学习和记忆的神经生物学是一个重要的研究领域。学习和记忆是神经系统对信息进行编码、存储和检索的基本过程。对这一复杂的神经科学领域进行了数十年的研究，揭示了生物体正常学习和记忆所需的数百种基因。然而，硬币的另一面，即与限制学习和记忆过程相反的基因，却令人惊讶地不那么为人所知和研究。这些基因被称为记忆抑制基因。

Background: The neurobiology of learning and memory is an area of significant research interest. Learning and memory is the fundamental process through which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved from the nervous system. Decades of research into this complex area of neuroscience have revealed hundreds of genes that are required for an organism to learn and remember normally. However, the other side of the coin, the genes that work in opposition to constrain learning and memory processes, are surprisingly less well known and studied. These genes are referred to as memory suppressor genes'. The study of these memory suppressor genes will undoubtedly contribute new insights into the neurobiology of memory. One example of this is the emergence of the relatively new field of forgetting research, which arose from groundbreaking work in fruit flies (and has recently been extended to rodent models). This work is leading to a conceptual shift in the way we view forgetting, from a passive process of memory decay to an active process of memory removal. Furthermore, the recent identification of multiple memory suppressor genes suggests there is an important biological need to limit memory processes, but why this is the case remains unclear. Thus, the long-term goals of my lab are (1) to identify novel genes and various cellular pathways that act to suppress memory processes, and (2) to investigate why there is a need for such cognitive constraints, using the powerful and adaptable fruit fly model organism. Recent Progress and Objectives: My recent work in this area has led to the identification of 3 highly conserved, novel memory suppressor genes that are known to function in parts of the fundamental cellular secretory pathway. Over the next 5 years, my trainees and I will use multilevel approaches and state-of-the-art techniques to investigate how these genes function to suppress memory processes. We will do this by pursuing 3 research objectives: (i) determine what aspects of memory are limited by these genes, (ii) identify how these genes alter neuron function to affect memory, and (iii) elucidate the cellular mechanisms of how these genes function to suppress memory. Impact: Our highly innovative approach integrates the study of basic cellular and neurobiological systems with the complex processes of memory. The identification of novel memory suppressor genes and their mechanisms of action is an area of research that is still in its infancy that can lead to fundamental insights into the neurobiology of learning and memory. I anticipate this research will uncover new and surprising roles for the cellular secretory pathway in limiting memory processes, advancing research into the genetic suppression of memory in Canada.