Memory generation in non neuronal cells!

When learning is spaced in time, memory is enhanced, but so far this was only observed in neural systems.

A new study shows that non-neural cells, including kidney cells, also show a spaced effect in terms of transcriptional responses.

The authors used immortalized cell lines stably expressing a short-lived luciferase reporter controlled by a CREB-dependent promoter. They show that four spaced pulses of either agonist (forskolin/phorbol ester) elicit stronger and more sustained luciferase expression than a single “massed” pulse.

Spaced pulses also result in stronger and more sustained activation of molecular factors critical for memory formation, ERK and CREB, and inhibition of ERK or CREB blocks the massed-spaced effect indicating memory do not necessarily depend on neural circuitry.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53922-x

https://sciencemission.com/The-massed-spaced-learning-effect-in-non--neural-human-cells