This not only hindered the rodents' ability to make long-term memories - for example, of objects they'd been trained to recognize - but also blocked the action of genes that normally switch on in neurons during memory making. In other experiments, the researchers stopped pericytes from producing IGF2 but didn't stop other types of cells from doing so, such as neurons and connective tissue-making cells called fibroblasts. The researchers aren't yet sure how this activates the nearby pericytes, but it does seem that the neurons kick off the memory-making process. This production seemed to be triggered by the activity of nearby neurons when starting to form memories, neurons in the hippocampus send each other a flurry of chemical messages and the channels of communication between those cells begin to grow stronger. In mice and rats, the researchers found that pericytes produce most of this IGF2 in the hippocampus. ![]() For example, there's an uptick in IGF2 after an animal is trained to be fearful of scenarios that they've come to associate with a mild electric shock to the foot. In the new study, the authors looked at a protein called insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), whose production surges in the hippocampus, a key region of the brain for making long-term memories, after learning.
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