In a recent paper titled "An Update on the Memory Formation and Retrieval: Engram-centric Approach," researchers explore the idea that memory loss observed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder of memory retrieval instead of a storage impairment. The paper proposes a new treatment strategy for memory retrieval in dementia-Alzheimer’s disease based on an engram-centric approach, which aims to enlarge the conceptual frame of memory as an emergent behavior of the brain.
According to the updated hypothesis, there are specialized memory engram neurons for each memory type, and the excitability level in engram neuron seems like a code canalizing the interactions between engrams and information. Therefore, to enhance the excitability of memory engram neurons improves memory loss observed in Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the paper suggests that hippocampus creates an index for information stored in memory engram cells in specialized regions for different types of memory, instead of storing all information. The paper also discusses the challenges for the engram-centric treatment hypothesis, including the delivery of optogenetic tools in patients.
The paper provides a new perspective for treatment studies aimed at retrieving the lost memory in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The engram-centric approach proposes that memory loss, the main devastating effect of Alzheimer’s disease, is a memory recall disorder, not a storage impairment. This new approach challenges the traditional memory hypothesis that suggests that memory is stored as multiple traces in hippocampal neurons. The paper also raises an update on memory formation and memory consolidation to be fully understood the neurobiological mechanism of memory loss.
The paper discusses the nature of memory formation and the hippocampal index of memory, which suggests that hippocampus forms an index of the cortical activity that was observed during the actual experience of an event. The paper also explains the challenges for the standard model of memory consolidation and engram cells' role in the consolidation of memory.
In conclusion, the paper proposes a new treatment strategy for memory retrieval in dementia-Alzheimer’s disease based on an engram-centric approach. This approach challenges the traditional memory hypothesis that suggests that memory is stored as multiple traces in hippocampal neurons, and it provides a new perspective for treatment studies aimed at retrieving the lost memory in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the paper also discusses the challenges for the engram-centric treatment hypothesis, including the delivery of optogenetic tools in patients.
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