METHODS FOR ENHANCING LEARNING AND MEMORY

摘要

Methods of maintaining or enhancing memory or learning in a mammal by activating the receptor tyrosine kinase muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) in the brain are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of treating a disease or condition associated with memory loss or neurological impairment by administering an effective amount of a MuSK-activating agent to a subject, such as a human, in need of such treatment. The invention also pertains to methods of identifying compounds that maintain or enhance memory or learning or that enhance the recovery from a neurological impairment such as stroke. MuSK, an agrin receptor known to be important in neuromuscular junction formation and function, was isolated from the brain and determined to play an essential role to memory consolidation and to speed the recovery from stroke in mice.