
New research in sea slugs sparks controversy about the way memories are stored - laurex
https://massivesci.com/articles/memory-sea-slug-neuroscience/
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lend000
It says they injected RNA into the new sea-slugs -- did they try injecting a
placebo as well? It does not specify how they did it, but I assume injecting
RNA is somewhat traumatic for the sea slug and becoming more reclusive with
its siphon and extremities could be a default reaction.

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jarfil
This is interesting research, but I think it's been accepted for some time
already that two identical neurons with the same chemical composition and the
same neural connections will behave in the same way, and that cellular
function is controlled by the RNA present in it which originates from its DNA
moderated by epigenetic markers.

It doesn't disprove that synapses form memories, only shows that chemical
composition also plays a part in forming memories.

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jacobsimon
Super interesting experiment but not as new/groundbreaking as the article
suggests. The paper is from May but I think this researcher has been exploring
the topic for decades.

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mynegation
I am not ina field so question may be dumb. How do researchers control for
possible non-neural factors and non-RNA factors? E.g. continuous light shocks
increase the level of stress hormone responsible for slowing down muscle
relaxation. This additional hormone is transferred, alongside RNA (how do you
transfer only RNA?) and that increases response time in receiving slugs.

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MrQuincle
Or synaptic plasticity is just completely different in sea slugs. Maybe they
don't have the luxury to rewire everything all the time and rely more on
mechanisms that control neural excitation.

