{
  "id": 2920838,
  "title": "Deleting learning-induced dendritic spines disrupts the memory they encode",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/deleting-learning-induced-dendritic-spines-disrupts-the-memory-they",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-23T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.18.745461v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The process of forming new dendritic spines following learning has been a subject of debate regarding its role in long-term memory storage. Until now, direct causal evidence linking this remodeling to memory retention was missing. To investigate this, researchers created the New Spine Elimination Tool (NSET), a chemical-genetic approach aimed at removing dendritic spines formed within a specific timeframe of synaptic plasticity. NSET integrates inducible expression of a degradable form of the actin-binding protein Drebrin with a ligand that triggers proteasomal degradation. As nascent spines incorporate these degradable proteins into their cytoskeleton, ligand application successfully eliminates them while leaving pre-existing spines untouched. In laboratory hippocampal slice cultures, NSET successfully removed recently formed spines without affecting the overall spine density or impacting pre-existing spines. When applied to the mouse basolateral amygdala in a live setting, selectively removing learning-induced spines disrupted auditory fear memory. However, consolidated memories and the ability to acquire new learning remained unaffected. These findings offer direct causal proof that newly formed dendritic spines are essential for long-term memory storage.",
  "summary": "Long-term memory is widely thought to depend on activity-dependent synaptic plasticity and the structural remodeling that accompanies it, yet direct causal evidence that this remodeling is required for memory storage has been lacking. A case in point is the formation of dendritic spines: new spines appear following learning, but whether they constitute a physical substrate of memory remains…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}