According to a report by EFE on October 30th, a research team at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland has successfully activated and suppressed the memory of mice. This is the first study to show that memory expression can be

In a statement, the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne emphasized that this research will help better understand the memory functions of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, or neurodegenerative diseases.

Scientists at this university focus on studying memory traces, which are the neural connections that store memories.

To test whether memory can be activated or suppressed, they altered the ARC expression gene in mice, which is responsible for helping neurons to form connections.

Scientists then trained mice to associate specific areas with mild electric shocks on their paws. They found that by inhibiting the ARC gene, the mice had more difficulty learning and remembering that the paw area could be subject to electric shock.

Scientists have also found similar effects in memories stored for several days. Researchers indicate that such memories are often the most difficult to alter.

To alter the expression of ARC genes, scientists combined CRISPR-based techniques with another method for labeling neurons involved in memory traces in mice. They used harmless viruses to introduce these tools into the hippocampus of the mice, the ar