Lasting Memories

Neuroscientists have a reasonable understanding of how mammals initially learn and remember things. However, far less is understood about how memories are maintained long-term – in some cases, for a whole lifetime. Most studies into long-term memory have focused on the neurons – the information transmitters of the brain. But recent evidence suggests astrocytes (coloured yellow in this section of mouse brain) – traditionally considered the brain’s support cells – are in fact crucial for ingraining memories. Investigations into the structural support protein ankyrin-2, which has been linked to intellectual disability, revealed that while its deletion from mouse neurons had little or no effect on memory, its deletion from astrocytes did. Mice whose astrocytes lack the protein had significantly impaired recall of a long-term memory (a fear-conditioned response) than did control animals. It’s thought that the protein, in its structural capacity, stabilises established neural circuits to make some experiences unforgettable.

Written by Ruth Williams

Ruth Williams

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Ruth is a freelance science journalist based in the US. She's a regular correspondent for The Scientist, and her work has appeared in The Lancet, Nature, Scientific American Mind, BBC Focus and elsewhere. Twitter @rooph

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• Image from work by Hayoung Kim (김하영), Jiwoon Lim (임지운) and Jooyoung Kim (김주영), and colleagues
• Center for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, Republic of Korea
• Image originally published as 'Attribution Required' – hence here with as Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Research published in Nature Communications, July 2026