Roles of genetics in brain formation

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute TSRI have discovered that neurons in brains that form networks in the absence of synaptic activity.

According to Maximov assembly of neutral circuits in areas required for cognition is controlled by intrinsic genetic programs that operate separately.

Daily experience makes every brain unique by changing the form and patterns of neuronal connections.

Our organs of vision, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are very important in early postnatal life when synapses is formed.

Humans have innate behaviors that is consistent across generations, indicating that some synaptic connections are genetically predetermined.

Effects of sleep deprivation on memory formation

Nicolette Ognjanovski of the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology at Michigan and colleagues discovered that sleep deprivation interfere with the rhythm of neuronal firing in hippocampus part of the brain that is responsible for formation of long-term memories.

National Sleep Foundation recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night for sound health.  Sleep deprivation prevents memory formation because it prevents brain from converting short-term memory to long-term memory.

The researchers examined the hippocampal of mice and discovered that those that had sufficient sleep displayed better sleep-related oscillations than sleep-deprived mice.

This discovery shows that memories are not stored in one cell, but distributed through the network. The dominant oscillatory activities for learning is being controlled by cells in hippocampus.