Spinal cords can make their own memories, neuroscientists reveal

Neuroscientists have discovered that the spinal cord can make its memories independent of the brain. This new revelation can be a game-changer for treating patients' spinal cord injuries.

Earlier studies have shown that the spinal cord can initiate reflex movements without the brain's involvement and it appears to learn and adjust movements based on previous experiences. The mechanism behind this has been unknown.

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"Learning and memory is often attributed as functions of the brain exclusively. Although scientists knew for more than a century that the spinal cord could learn and adapt movements in the absence of brain input, we did not know how the spinal cord learns and memorises what is has learned," Aya Takeoka, the author of the study, told Newsweek.

"Gaining insights into the underlying mechanism is essential if we want to understand the foundations of movement automaticity in healthy people and use this knowledge to improve recovery after spinal cord injury," she added.

How did the researchers derive the conclusion?

To understand the roles of neurons in reflexive learning, the researchers first tested whether spinal cord cells could adapt to sensory inputs in the absence of brain impulses.

Once they tested that with the help of a pair of mice, they learned that the spinal cord could learn and remember independently of the brain.

Next, they tried to find the neuronal circuitry that was helping the spinal cord to store memory. They discovered that the spinal cord does not needlearning cells ormemory cells forrecalling and learning what it has experienced.

"The two groups of nerve cells have distinct functions; learning cells are not needed for recalling what the spinal cord had learned, and memory cells were not needed for learning," researchers derived.

"Not only do these results challenge the prevailing notion that motor learning and memory are solely confined to brain circuits, but we showed that we could manipulate spinal cord motor recall, which has implications for therapies designed to improve recovery after spinal cord damage," Takeoka added.