Nature: How does the brain distinguish between the present and the past?

9, 2020 /--- In a recent article, neuroscientists have identified the mechanisms by which the brain distinguishes between real and current dangers associated with past experiences.
findings, published in the journal Nature, have implications for our understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
, director of the Center for Neuroscience at New York University and senior author of the paper, said: "The memory of a traumatic episode can last a long time.
but we can selectively use these memories: to anticipate and respond to subsequent associated hazards, and to identify when there is no threat.
this is especially important for survival behavior in uncertain environments.
Reprera na Shrestha, a postdoctoral fellow at New York University's Center for Neuroscience, added: "This has significant implications for memory disorders such as PTSD, in which case it is difficult for patients to distinguish between the two.
study, which also included researchers from Rockefeller University and McGill University, focused on the neurological processes that mice use to make these distinctions.
that learning to recognize and respond appropriately to clues in an uncertain environment is critical to animal survival.
, in addition to predicting hazards, uncertain environments present clues to predictable safety, or, in particular, to no danger.
, animals need to respond to threat prediction alerts through defensive behavior, and instead respond to security alerts by stopping threat responses and returning to normal behavior.
current study, scientists are trying to identify cell molecules or substrates to store long-term threats and memories associated with security tips.
has long been thought to play a fundamental role in the processing and storage of emotionally related information in the amygdala, a brain region.
, however, few people understand the cell engine and architecture on which it is based.
the formation and consolidation of long-lasting memories is also well known, through changes in the protein cell landscape, which capture important features of events, in part through the synthesis of new proteins.
new work, scientists aim to better understand these mechanisms by disrupting key steps in protein synthesis in specific cell types, which will reveal their importance.
program allows researchers to identify key players in this complex process.
, they examined and interfered with the assembly of two protein complexes, which are essential for the synthesis of new proteins.
protein complex contains eIF2, which is used to add amino acids to the protein being synthesized.
protein complex contains eIF4E, which binds to the protected "cap" of messenger RNA, which is essential for translating it into proteins.
it's worth noting that they found that protein synthesis in specific inhibitory neurons in the amygdala is essential for storing information about suggestive threats, while protein synthesis in neurons that express PKC is essential for storing additional information about safety cues.
has previously been shown that activity in these neuron populations occurs in clues related to dealing with threats.
, however, is the first study to link the need for new protein synthesis in these neurons to the stability of long-term emotional memory.
(bioon.com) Source: Scientists unpack how the brain separates presents from the original source: Amygdala resedory neurons as loci for translation in emotional memories, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2793-8 ,