A recent study has revealed that cells outside the brain, traditionally not associated with memory, also can store memories. This discovery challenges the long-held view that only brain cells are responsible for memory formation and suggests new possibilities for enhancing learning and treating memory-related conditions.
The researchers aimed to explore whether non-brain cells could contribute to memory by investigating the massed-spaced effect, suggesting that spaced study intervals improve memory retention. In their study, they exposed two types of non-brain cells (from nerve and kidney tissue) to chemical signals resembling those that brain cells receive when learning.
The cells responded by activating a “memory gene,” the same gene brain cells use to form memories by restructuring their connections in response to patterns. This suggests that memory processes extend beyond the brain to other cells in the body.
To track the memory process, the researchers engineered the non-brain cells to produce a glowing protein that indicated when the “memory gene” was active. The results revealed that these cells could distinguish between repeated, spaced-out chemical pulses and a single prolonged pulse—similar to how brain neurons respond to spaced learning rather than cramming.
Credit: Nikolay Kukushkin
When the pulses were spaced out, the “memory gene” was activated more intensely and for longer, mirroring the enhanced memory formation seen in brain cells during spaced learning.
New York University‘s Nikolay V. Kukushkin, the study’s lead, said, “This reflects the massed-space effect in action. It shows that the ability to learn from spaced repetition isn’t unique to brain cells, but it might be a fundamental property of all cells.”
“The findings not only offer new ways to study memory but also point to potential health-related gains.”
“This discovery opens new doors for understanding how memory works and could lead to better ways to enhance learning and treat memory problems. At the same time, it suggests that in the future, we will need to treat our body more like the brain—for example, consider what our pancreas remembers about the pattern of our past meals to maintain healthy levels of blood glucose or consider what a cancer cell remembers about the pattern of chemotherapy.”
Journal Reference:
- Kukushkin, N.V., Carney, R.E., Tabassum, T. et al. The massed-spaced learning effect in non-neural human cells. Nat Commun 15, 9635 (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53922-x