UBC research says new thoughts modify your brain cells

An important change in the molecules which occurs in our brain when we read and remember was identified by the study if New University of Britain, Columbia. The research that was published in Nature Neuroscience this month presents that learning inspired our brain cells in a such a way that lets a small fatty acid to stick to delta-catenin which is a protein in a brain. The study found that, the biochemical modification is important in giving the changes in the brain cell connectivity related to learning. Here, the scientists found the double amount of changed delta-catenin in animal models brains after knowing about new environments and surroundings. Previously, this delta-catenin was connected to learning and this study is the initial to mention about the protein’s role in memory formation mechanism. The Co-author Shernaz Bamji, an associate professor in UBC’S Life Sciences Institute said that, “ More work is needed, but this discovery gives us a much better understanding of the tools our brains use to learn and remember, and provides insight into how these processes become disrupted in neurological diseases.”