Chad Smies, doctoral student in biology at Penn State, studies the mechanism behind memory updating and how that process changes with aging. Credit

Memory problems in old age linked to a key enzyme, study in mice finds

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2024-08-12 19:00:09

Chad Smies, doctoral student in biology at Penn State, studies the mechanism behind memory updating and how that process changes with aging. Credit: Provided by the Kwapis Lab / Penn State. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Everyone has moments of forgetfulness from time to time, especially as we get older. But older adults don’t just have difficulty remembering new information. They also have a harder time modifying those memories when new details emerge. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms behind memory updating and how those mechanisms go awry with age.

A team of researchers from Penn State has identified an enzyme that contributes to age-related impairments in memory updating. When blocked, older mice were better able to incorporate new information and performed similarly to their younger counterparts. The researchers said the findings, which published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, may lead to the development of potential therapeutic targets for improving cognitive flexibility in old age.

“It’s important to understand what’s happening at a molecular level during a memory update because, as humans, most of our memories are updates. We’re constantly building on things we already know and modifying existing memories,” said Janine Kwapis, assistant professor of biology and senior author of the paper. “But no one has really looked to see if the mechanisms behind memory formation and memory updating are identical or if they are unique for memory updating. This is a step forward in figuring that out.”