Scientists are taking lessons about quick thinking, reversing brain trauma, and slowing down brain degeneration from an unexpected neurological wonder. Snails are efficient in thinking and a lot smarter than you think.
Despite the snail’s ultra-simplified brain structure, this tiny creature uses only two brain cells to compute two scenarios: when the creature is hungry and when food is available. Comparing a 2-brain-cell snail and a 100-billion-brain-cell human, there is an obvious difference in terms of brain complexity. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]
However, at a cellular level, both snails and humans shared similarity in bio-electrical activities and biomolecule properties. Both have brain cells. Both brains have nerve connections called synapses. Both have similar memory-forming proteins called CREB-1 and CREB-2 protein [1] which is an acronym of cAMP Response Element Binding protein. In other words, snails are excellent subject to understand how memory works and the brain functions.
Neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) reported their findings in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Before discovering CREB, there were few schools of thought about how memory works. In the 1950s, it is believed that memory is stored as bioelectric fields generated by the combined activities of billions of nerve cells found in the brain and body. In the 1960s, it is also believed that memory and learning results from changes in synapse strength. In the 1990s, snail’s slimy counterpart – the sea slugs produced a unique memory proteins called CREB. Louis Flexner, followed by Bernard Agranoff and his colleagues and by Samuel Barondes and Larry Squire, observed that the formation of long-term memory requires the synthesis of this new protein. By blocking the CREB protein activities, it is observed that sea slugs’ long term body memory is selectively eliminated.
For a simple animal, such as snails and slugs, they can learn to avoid danger and remember to avoid that same danger in future. This is a fascinating survival ability that requires no complex brain to process.
Scientists now understand that formation of memories involves more than just electrical brain activities; it is chemical brain activities as well. Without dissecting a human brain, this made snails with minimal brain nerves an excellent subject to study effects of cancer chemotherapy on brains and memories, and to observe what goes wrong during brain functionally impaired conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, psychiatric disorders, and more.
Further research is required to understand how findings from snails can be translated to understanding of human neurological disorders.
Meanwhile, scientists remain optimistic. Wayne Sossin, a neuroscientist at McGill University as reported by McGill University official press release, says “Our work demonstrates that there are diverse mechanisms by which neurons maintain memories in the brain and provides hope that someday we will be able to selectively manipulate memories.”
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