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Other Novel Strategies

AMPA receptors are present throughout the brain, and are involved in synaptic connections between
brain cells. These AMPA receptors play a role in boosting both learning and memory, and ampakines
are substances that amplify or enhance these signals. Some investigators are trying to develop drugs
that can amplify the AMPA signal, while others believe that this is a waste of time because
ampakines share many similarities to caffeine, which improves attention and mental arousal with no
direct impact on memory.

In animal models, a number of other substances can amplify long-term potentiation, which is the
physiologic property of cells to remain depolarized, or stimulated, for an extended period of time.
Kandel and other researchers believe that at the cellular level, long-term potentiation is the method
by which a memory trace becomes solidified and is eventually transferred into long-term memory
storage. A number of chemicals can amplify the effects of long-term potentiation. These include
substances that stimulate dopamine receptors and others that inhibit the enzyme phosphodiesterase.
In animal studies, these chemical substances improve transfer of information from short- to long-
term storage. But as of yet, there are no clinical studies to back up these intriguing laboratory
findings.

Earlier, I referred to Dennis Choi's work on zinc and memory. Although few other researchers are
putting much time and energy into studying metallic elements that are known to be involved in
essential enzyme pathways, my guess is that this will change in the future. Sophisticated new
technologies will help us to decipher what exactly these trace metals like chromium and selenium are
doing in the brain. Future therapies may be based on increasing or decreasing the levels of these
metallic elements in a targeted fashion, taking into account the delicate balance that exists between
these metallic elements and a variety of processes in the brain.

The elusive prion, discovered by Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner, must not be forgotten. These
microscopic prions play a role not only in neurological disorders, but possibly in memory loss due to
the aging process itself. I suspect that we will hear a lot more about the role of prions in memory
loss.

A Bright Future Awaits

The graveyard of memory research has turned into a fertile field budding with roses of all shapes and
colors. The rose isn't a bad analogy;