Fruit Fly Gene Could Unlock the Mysteries of Human Memory

(Sept. 10) -- A breakthrough finding in the common fruit fly could help explain how humans learn and remember -- or why some suffer from conditions that limit both capacities.

A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists, funded by the National Institutes of Health, used a cutting-edge method, developed in their own lab, to target and manipulate specific brain cells within the Drosophila, better known as fruit fly.

They found one gene, known as gish, whose mutations are responsible for "oflactory sensory learning" -- the link between odors and short-term memories.

"This is the first time we have a new memory and learning gene that lies outside what has been considered the most fundamental signaling pathway that underlies learning in the fruit fly," Ron Davis, who led the study, said in a statement.

Of course, animal studies don't always offer a clear parallel to human health. But in this case, fruit fly genes have already been closely tied to those of human subjects. Indeed, scientists already know that fruit flies and people share a gene -- called dunce -- implicated in vulnerability to schizophrenia.

A better understanding of how learning and memory work could, scientists hope, improve insight into diseases like Alzheimer's, as well as learning disabilities.

"The truth is that we have an extremely sketchy understanding of what causes diseases like Alzheimer's," Davis said. "We need to understand a lot more than we do now about normal brain functions like memory and learning before we have a high probability of succeeding in the development of a cure."

This kind of fundamental research, which aims to eventually find extremely effective preventive methods and cures that target genes, is going on while other scientists make rapid headway in addressing Alzheimer's without knowing entirely how it -- and other ailments of learning and memory -- is caused.

Just this week, Vitamin B intake was linked to the disease's prevention, and other recent research has found a trio of biomarkers that can accurately anticipate the onset of symptoms.