How does one’s experience of an event get translated into a memory that can be accessed months, even years later?

A team led by University of Pennsylvania scientists has come closer to answering that question, identifying key molecules that help convert short-term memories into long-term ones. These proteins may offer a target for drugs that can enhance memory, alleviating some of the cognitive symptoms that characterize conditions including schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

“There are many drugs available to treat some of the symptoms of diseases like schizophrenia,” Abel -Penn’s Brush Family Professor of Biology- said, “but they don’t treat the cognitive deficits that patients have, which can include difficulties with memory. This study looks for more specific targets to treat deficits in cognition.”

Published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the study focused on a group of proteins called nuclear receptors, which have been implicated in the regulation of a variety of biological functions, including memory formation.