Doh! Losing ‘Homer Simpson’ gene makes mice smart
17 Nov 2010 by Evoluted New Media
A gene has been dubbed the Homer Simpson gene by its discoverers because it holds mice back mentally.
A gene has been dubbed the Homer Simpson gene by its discoverers because it holds mice back mentally.
Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine discovered that deleting RGS14 – which is also found in humans – makes mice smarter by unlocking a region of the brain previously considered to be relatively inflexible. Mice with the deleted gene could remember objects they’d previously explored and navigate a water maze to a hidden escape platform by remembering visual cues more quickly than normal mice.
“A big question this research raises is why would we, or mice, have a gene that makes us less smart – a Homer Simpson gene?” asked John Helper, professor of pharmacology, “I believe that we are not really seeing the full picture. RGS14 may be a key control gene in a part of the brain that, when missing or disabled, knocks brain signals important for learning and memory out of balance.”
RGS14 is primarily turned on in the CA2 region of the hippocampus – the area of the brain involved in consolidating new learning and memory formation and Hepler believes RGS14 is a key control protein for these signals.
To probe RGS14’s functions, Sarah Emerson Lee, a graduate student in Hepler’s lab, characterised mice whose gene had been disabled using gene-targeting technology. Together with Serena Dudek from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, they examined how the CA2 region responded to electrical stimulation in the gene altered mice.
They found that in mice with the disabled gene, the CA2 region was capable of robust long-term potentiation – meaning that neurons in the area had stronger connections in response to electrical stimulation.
Although the lack of RGS14 doesn’t hurt the mice, it’s possible that their brain function has changed in a way the researcher’s haven’t yet seen; Lee is now investigating if the mice have altered social behaviour or sensitivity to seizures.
“The pipe dream is that maybe you could find a compound that inhibits RGS14 or shuts it down,” Hepler said, “Then, perhaps, you could enhance cognition.”
