What can flies teach us about long-term memory?
Whilst memories are fluid at first, they can be consolidated into stable long-term memory. But what is the mechanism behind memory consolidation in animals?
A team led by Takaomi Saka from Tokyo Metropolitan University (Japan), have pinpointed the Apterous (Ap) protein as a key part of the memory consolidation mechanism in the Drosophila fruit fly. These results help to unravel the complex biochemistry of memory and could lead to new approaches to the treatment of memory disorders.
