10/26/2011 PERMALINK
Mod that can increase the strength of your brain synapses by 300%. Each of the brain’s 100 billion neurons forms thousands of connections with other neurons. These connections, known as synapses, allow cells to rapidly share information, coordinate their activities, and achieve learning and memory. With age your synapse connections tend to weaken. But MIT postdoc Peng Shi is on the path to a mod that not only might fix but could enhance the strength of your synapses by 300 percent.. The MIT researchers’ goal was to find HDAC inhibitors that specifically turn on genes that enhance synaptic connections. To determine which had the strongest effects, they measured the amount of a protein called synapsin found in the presynaptic neurons. Those tests yielded several HDAC inhibitors that strengthened synapses, with the best one improving synapse strength by 300 percent.