TheGrio’s 100: André Fenton, neuroscientist may erase painful memories

TheGrio's 100 - Neuroscientists have long sought physical evidence of memory, and Fenton and his fellow researches at NYU have found a piece of the puzzle in molecule PKMzeta...

TheGrio Staff

Feb 1, 2011

Three questions consume the mind and work of neuroscientist André Fenton: how do brains store information in memory, how do they sort relevant and irrelevant information, and how can we record electrical activity from individual brain cells in human subjects? This biomedical engineer and entrepreneur’s research has also led him to ask – can we erase painful memories?

Neuroscientists have long sought physical evidence of memory, and Fenton and his fellow researches at NYU have found a piece of the puzzle in molecule PKMzeta. The molecule is found in connections between brain cells, and appears to be responsible for the long-term preserving of information. If PKMzeta is blocked, a memory, say of a traumatic event, vanishes.

André Fenton is making history … by uncovering the truth about human memory. He’s revolutionized the monitoring of brain activity with inexpensive, miniature wireless devices that record the electrical brain activity of subjects prone to seizures and other neural abnormalities. By studying specific disturbances in neural coordination, Fenton hopes to develop medicines or treatments to help those suffering from schizophrenia, mental disability, depression, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury.

What’s next for André?

Bio-Signal Group, which Fenton launched with the aim of developing and commercializing advances in neuroscience, is crafting a brain-recording technology for medical applications, like the rapid assessment of a patient’s degree of brain function after a medical emergency. He is also conducting research on the relationship between stress and memory, research that could shed light on the complicated nature of mental afflictions like post-traumatic stress disorder.

In his own words …

“The impressive progress in brain research has produced a substantial gap between our detailed knowledge of the molecular and cellular interactions in the brain and the mental processes that these interactions give rise to,”” Fenton says on the website for SUNY, where he’s also a faculty member. “”Our research aims to bridge this gap.”

A favorite quote …

“What we think, we become” – Guatama Buddha

A little-known fact …

There are more than 100 billion nerve cells and 100 trillion connections between them in the human brain, which is greater than estimated 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

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