Memory and neurotransmitters
Variations in the level of neurotransmitter substances, rather than genetics, may be at the root of poor memory, according to a Philadelphia investigator.Moreover, Louis B. Flexner, MD, believes that both loss of memory and its restoration can be achieved by the administration of appropriate chemical substances. Dr. Flexner, of the Department of Anatomy of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, told the annual meeting of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry at Barcelona:"We have recently found that a transient amnesia, experimentally produced and previously ascribed to lack of synthesis of a specific protein, can be prevented by injections of metaraminol, which increases the level of available norepinephrine."Thus, it now appears that neurotransmitters, rather than changes in gene expression, may play an important role in memory."The Philadelphia investigator said that his group has focused its attention on the possible role of norepinephrine in memory