How Memories Are Made And Lost In The Brain – Professor Don Kulasiri, Lincoln University
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the papers ‘Modelling the dynamics of CaMKII–NMDAR complex related to memory formation in synapses: The possible roles of threonine 286 autophosphorylation of CaMKII in long term potentiation’, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI:10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.11.001; ‘Modelling bidirectional modulations in synaptic plasticity: A biochemical pathway model to understand the emergence of long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD)’, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, DOI:10.1016/j.jtbi.2016.05.015; and ‘Computational investigation of Amyloid-β-induced location- and subunit-specific disturbances of NMDAR at hippocampal dendritic spine in Alzheimer’s disease’, published in the journal PLOS ONE, DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0182743.
Share Episode
About this episode
Our brain forms long-term memories and stores information through synaptic plasticity, the ability of the connections between neurons to be strengthened or weakened over time. However, the exact methods through which synaptic plasticity is achieved by the brain remain largely unknown in the scientific community. Professor Don Kulasiri at Lincoln University, New Zealand, is using a mathematical modelling approach to shed light into this process. His findings are providing molecular insights into how memories can be strengthened or lost.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 
What does this mean?
Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt: You can change, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Credit: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
Related episodes
Prof. Alex Vitkin | Seeing the Invisible: How Polarized Light Contributes to Our Understanding and Detection of Cancer
Light is something we encounter every day, so familiar that it rarely inspires a second thought. Yet beneath its apparent simplicity lies a remarkable complexity. Light can carry information in its brightness and color, but also in its polarization and phase, subtle properties that describe how its waves oscillate and interact. For decades, these hidden dimensions of light have remained largely untapped in medicine. Now, a growing body of research is beginning to reveal their extraordinary potential.
Dr. Samantha Zwicker | The Secret Life of the Margay in Peru’s Rainforest
Deep in the Amazon rainforest of southeastern Peru, one of the world’s most elusive wild cats slips silently through the trees. Smaller than a jaguar and far less famous than a tiger, the margay is a master of the canopy, moving through tangled branches with extraordinary agility. For decades, scientists have struggled to understand this mysterious feline because it is rarely seen, mostly active at night, and equally comfortable on the ground and high above it. Now, a new study conducted by Dr. Samantha Zwicker of Hoja Nueva, a conservation nonprofit rooted in Madre de Dios, Peru, and colleagues, is shedding light on the hidden world of the margay in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. By combining ground cameras with lower-canopy cameras placed at natural margay choke points, the team captured both sides of cats moving up and down trees – a practical, lower-cost alternative to labor-intensive upper-canopy surveys.
Dr. Manreet Bhullar | Invisible Hazards: How Water Shapes the Safety of Hydroponic Food
At first glance, hydroponic farming seems like the future made real. Rows of leafy greens grow indoors, roots suspended in carefully balanced nutrient solutions, untouched by soil and shielded from many of the uncertainties of outdoor agriculture. This method promises efficiency, precision, and sustainability. It uses far less water than traditional farming and produces food in tightly controlled environments. Yet beneath this clean and modern image lies a quieter story about risk, one that flows through the very water that sustains these crops.
Prof. Dr. Christopher Gerner | Colitis ulcerosa und die verborgene Logik chronischer Erkrankungen
Colitis ulcerosa, oft als UC bezeichnet, ist eine chronisch-entzündliche Erkrankung des Dickdarms, die weltweit immer häufiger auftritt, auch bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen. Für viele Patientinnen und Patienten beginnt sie mit subtilen Warnzeichen wie Bauchbeschwerden, Durchfall, Müdigkeit oder Spuren von Blut im Stuhl. Im Laufe der Zeit können sich diese Symptome zu schmerzhaften und beängstigenden Schüben entwickeln, die Ausbildung, Karriere, Familienleben und das emotionale Wohlbefinden beeinträchtigen. Obwohl die moderne Medizin bemerkenswert wirksam darin geworden ist, diese akuten Krankheitsepisoden zu kontrollieren, bleibt UC hartnäckig bestehen. Bei den meisten Betroffenen kehrt die Erkrankung nach Phasen scheinbarer Erholung zurück, manchmal ohne einen offensichtlichen äußeren Auslöser.
Increase the impact of your research
Step 1 Upload your science paper
Step 2 SciPod script written
Step 3 Voice audio recorded
Step 4 SciPod published