The food that most people avoid, yet could help the brain store memories
A study in fruit flies demonstrates the crucial role of this food in maintaining long-term memories.
Memory is a brain function that has been studied for decades by researchers around the world. The goal of improving memory, both to make daily life easier and to achieve personal goals, has led to the testing of all kinds of methods. However, recent research suggests that diet, and especially sugar, may play a key role in how memories are formed and stored.
This study was conducted by the Brain Plasticity Laboratory in Paris, part of the National Center for Scientific Research. Published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, it examined how fruit flies consolidate olfactory memories.
The importance of sugar for memory
The researchers analyzed how fruit flies form long-term memories during aversive learning. To do this, the insects were exposed to the smell of fructose while receiving mild electric shocks. The study revealed that a small group of sensory neurons in the brain that respond to fructose become active not only after a sugar reward, but also during this negative learning process.
Under normal conditions, these neurons respond only to sugar when the animal is hungry. However, after learning, they begin to behave as if the animal were fasting. This allows sugar consumption after training to help consolidate memory.
The research team also tested how diet after learning influenced this process. They observed whether these fructose-sensitive neurons were active when the fruit flies began eating after training. This activation did not occur when the diet was based on fats. In contrast, the consumption of sugar or glucose was essential.
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