Paris - A molecule which helps the brain delete unwanted information could be to blame for the memory loss which creeps up with old age, according to a Swiss study that was published on Thursday.
"Not everything that we learn is useful, so the brain needs a mechanism to prevent itself being burdened by unhelpful details," said researchers Alcino Silva and Sheena Josselyn in the article in the British journal Nature.
Studies on mice by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich found that those in which the activity of a protein called protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) was inhibited were less likely to forget what they had learned, said the institute's David Genoux.
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The enzyme "actively suppresses memories in mice, both during and after a learning exercise", the article said.
The study was "unravelling the basis of forgetfulness" and had found these "molecules of forgetfulness" which were part of a complex system that clears the brain of unwanted memory and allows re-learning, the report said.
The results show "we are well on our way to unravelling the biology of memory, and of course, forgetting", said Silva and Josselyn, of the University of California, in an accompanying article. - Sapa-AFP
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