According to the research, cells in non-neuronal tissues also respond with greater strength and persistence when they receive spaced chemical signals and this change in molecular state represents an equivalent to the “memory” that neurons activate when they detect patterns of information in the brain.

This process is associated with the activation of proteins crucial to memory, such as CREB and ERK, whose inhibition interferes with the cell’s ability to respond to the spaced stimulus, the text states.

With this finding, experts suggest that memory does not depend exclusively on complex neuronal circuits, but may be embedded in the dynamics of chemical and protein signals common in different types of cells.

To test their hypothesis, the scientists replicated one of the principles of memory formation, the so-called “spacing effect,” in two types of non-neuronal human cells.

They exposed the cells to spaced pulses of chemical signals and discovered that, just as neurons do, these cells could “remember” and respond differently when the stimuli were applied intermittently rather than continuously.

“Knowing the ways in which these “cellular memories” work could help us improve treatments and develop innovative therapies to address learning problems and memory disorders,” the study states.

It also reveals that if all cells possess a kind of “memory,” in the future it would be possible to use this quality to train cells in vital organs so that they respond better to certain patterns or treatments.

ef/ro/cdg