“These results do not show that PKM-ζ is unimportant,” says Lynn Nadel, a cognitive scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “But they show that the situation is complicated—surprise!—and that there are multiple possible pathways involved.” 

These other pathways are still a mystery. Without PKM-ζ, “there are not many compelling alternatives for how long-term memory is maintained,” says Huganir. His team is now trying to explore other mechanisms by identifying ZIP’s true targets. “The mechanisms underlying the maintenance of long-term memory will be one of the more exciting areas of neuroscience research for many years to come,” he says.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on January 2, 2013.

2 Comments

1. 1. e_caroline 07:31 AM 1/8/13

   It is never a surprise when reductionists are baffled when studying complex systems that are capable of adaptation.
   
   The whole reductionist mindset is one that favors those who lack any real insight into the nature of the universe in which they are embedded and who like to oversimplify things so as to have a relatively easy time of it as they seek grants and other subsidies in order to take home a paycheck.

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2. 2. vatang 08:25 PM 1/9/13

   but without the reductionists's simplified model,how we can research this world?

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