Hobbie-J is a genetically engineered rat. Hobbie-J’s NR2B gene, (which controls memory), was boosted as an embryo. The rodent can remember objects three times as long as its smartest peers and can better solve complicated puzzles like mazes.
But even a super rat has its limits. For example with one test, the rats had to learn to alternate between right and left paths to get a chocolate reward. Both did well when they only had to wait a minute to repeat the task, after three minutes only Hobbie-J could remember and after five minutes, they both forgot. “We can never turn it into a mathematician. They are rats, after all,” Dr. Tsien says, noting that when it comes to truly complex thinking and memory, the size of the brain really does matter. Dr. Joe Z. Tsien is co-director of the MCG Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute and co-corresponding author on the paper published Oct. 19 in PLoS ONE (see http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007486). Dr. Xiaohua Cao at East China Normal University also is a co-corresponding author.
The finding validates NR2B as a drug target for improving memory in healthy individuals as well as those struggling with Alzheimer’s or mild dementia. Although it could take decades to develop a safe drug, the study is seen as an exciting development.
Source: University of Georgia
