In our Neuroscience Seminar this semester, we had the privilege of learning about the research that Dr. Stephanie Grella has been doing with Engrams, it focuses on how memories can change over a duration of time in positive and negative ways. Dr. Grella discusses the ways that memories are malleable, meaning they can be distorted or changed with time. She has been able to research this using mice and stress models, this tests their mental state while they are experiencing anxiety and can target the specific areas that are involved in Psychiatric related disorders. Dr. Grella emphasized her interest in Post Traumatic Stress disorder, or known as PTSD, putting the mice in different anxiety inducing environments can cause them to experience similar neuronal reactions to PTSD. The reason PTSD is an important Psychiatric disorder when it comes to studying Engrams is because memory updating can look different to those who suffer with PTSD.
When describing what an Engram is it can be very complex, however, Dr. Grella referred to an article written by Dr. Sheena A. Johnson and Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, “Memory engrams: Recalling the past and imagining the future”. This article explains not only how an engram is defined, but all the research and scientists that led to the discovery of an engram. In the article an engram is defined as the storage and recollection of memories, an engram can be formed by persistent chemical or physical changes to neurons from an experience in an individual’s life. The recollection of the memory improves if specific cues from the experience are reactivated. Research has proven that synaptic strength and neuronal connection can effect the formation of memories, if these factors are enhanced, memory formation can be refined. The question of whether an engram can be rebuilt after being deconstructed is what sparked my interest in further learning about engrams, but specifically how it can correlate to the Neurodegenerative Alzheimer’s Disease.
In an article written by Dr. Freddy Jeanneteau, “Stress and the risk of Alzheimer dementia: Can deconstructed engrams be rebuilt?” The topic of Alzheimer’s specifically interests me because it is a very common neurodegenerative disease and if researchers can discover how to reconstruct engrams, this could lead to an immense impact on the treatment or cure of Alzheimer's. Dr. Jeanneteau discusses how the neuronal connectivity is important for memories, he suggests that if a functional connectivity can be promoted then it could have the ability to replace the function of the lost one. The article explains that the more frequently an engram synapses, the stronger the memory functions and the easier it is for the memory to be recalled. Dr. Jeanneteau was able to research that the engram synapses that are closer to amyloid plaques, have shown less neuronal connectivity. This related to patients that suffer with Alzheimer’s Disease, they were shown to have a high number of silent neurons next to plaques, and an increased excitation to inhibition ratio. This provides beneficial information for the future of treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Although Dr. Grella researches the Psychiatric disorder of PTSD and Dr. Jeanneteua researches Alzheimer’s Disease, they both are interested in engrams and how they can be effected. The research being done around engrams can further relate to many more neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. This can lead to treatments and cures for certain disorders and diseases that are very prominent in today’s world, but they are difficult to research due to the complexity of understanding the neuroscience behind why these occur.
References:
Jeanneteau, Freddy. “Review for ‘stress and the risk of alzheimer dementia: Can deconstructed engrams be rebuilt?’” Stress and the Risk of Alzheimer Dementia: Can Deconstructed Engrams Be Rebuilt?, 25 Jan. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.13235/v2/review1.
Josselyn, Sheena A., and Susumu Tonegawa. “Memory engrams: Recalling the past and imagining the future.” Science, vol. 367, no. 6473, 3 Jan. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw4325.
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