University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) neuroscientists used the sea snail known as Aplysia californica to test an innovative learning strategy designed to help improve the brain’s memory, with encouraging results.

The research could ultimately benefit people who have impairments resulting from aging, stroke, traumatic brain injury, or congenital cognitive impairments.

Building on earlier research that identified proteins linked to memory, the UTHealth researchers created a mathematical model that tells them the temporal pattern (timing) of the activity of these proteins for the best learning experience. Using this model, the computer sorted through 10,000 different permutations to determine a schedule that would enhance memory.

Two groups of snails received five learning sessions. One group received learning sessions at irregular intervals that were predicted by the mathematical model. Another group received training sessions in regular 20-minute intervals.

Five days after the learning sessions were completed, a significant increase in memory was detected in the group that was trained with a schedule predicted by a computer. But no increase was detected in the group with the regular 20-minute intervals.

To confirm their findings, researchers analyzed nerve cells in the brain of snails and found greater activity in the ones receiving the enhanced training schedule. “This study shows the feasibility of using computational methods to assist in the design of training schedules that enhance memory,” said John H. “Jack” Byrne, Ph.D., senior author and chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the UTHealth Medical School.

The next steps in the research may involve tests in other animal models and eventually humans.

Ref.: Yili Zhang, et al.,Computational design of enhanced learning protocols, Nature Neuroscience, 2011; [DOI: 10.1038/nn.2990]