动物实验 z-bo 2020-11-05 357

　　Man-made changes in memory are not only a subject of science fiction, but also a hot spot of scientific research. The latest research report published on the website of the British "Nature" magazine on the 27th stated that researchers have successfully "rewritten" the emotional memory of experimental mice. This technique is used to treat related mental illnesses.

　　Memory often has a certain emotional color. Although the specific information of the memory such as the location of the incident generally does not change, the positive or negative nature of the memory sometimes changes. Previous studies have known that the amygdala region in the brain is responsible for encoding emotional information, and the hippocampal dentate gyrus is responsible for encoding situational information. However, how the two parts interact to enable the brain to label memories with emotions is still unclear.

　　In the latest study, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States gave some experimental mice electric shocks, giving them fear memories, and another part of them gained positive memories by interacting with the opposite sex. In this process, the researchers identified and recorded which neurons played a role in the formation of these two types of memories. When the experimental mouse came to an area that had been injured or had a good experience again, the relevant neurons were activated, and they either hurriedly avoided or stayed more.

　　Then, in an attempt to reverse the emotional memory of experimental mice, the researchers used optogenetics technology, which uses light to control brain neuronal activity. When the neurons that form the fear memory are activated by light, the experimental mice reacted similarly to those receiving electric shocks, and consciously avoided the relevant areas, even though they had actually interacted with the opposite sex here; on the contrary, some experimental mice even came Go to the area that has been shocked, but if they activate the neurons in their brains that form beautiful memories, they will "forget their fear" and begin to enjoy their stay here.

　　Analysis shows that during the process of "memory torsion", the neural circuit of the hippocampal dentate gyrus will be activated, resulting in changes in the "memory trace" connection between the hippocampal dentate gyrus and the amygdala, indicating that this neural circuit is torsion or Rewrite key areas of emotional memory.

　　Researchers said that this result helps to understand the mechanism of emotional memory formation and demonstrates the possibility of altering emotional memory at the level of brain circuits. Based on this, it is hoped that in the future, new methods for the treatment of psychological diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder will be developed.