The man himself, Dr. Eric Kandel

With so many opportunities to choose from, and work overwhelming them all, it’s easy to miss the chance to hear a Nobel Laureate discuss their groundbreaking research. Fortunately correspondent Anastasiya Vasilyeva has you covered, bringing back the highlights of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Reception and Lecture.

Tuesday night the Miller theater filled with a melting pot of science nerds, ranging from acclaimed researchers and doctors to wide-eyed froshes. The whole spectrum seemed to exit gleefully in the end, admiringly discussing the advances in Alzheimer’s research.

After a charming introduction by biochemistry and molecular biophysics professor Tom Jessell, involving a graph depicting the speaker’s 16000+ word autobiography, the highly distinguished Nobel Laureate–Eric Kandel–appeared on stage in a red bowtie. “That is the most remarkable introduction I have ever received,” the neuroscientist began humbly.

“Memory is the glue that holds our mental life together.” Thus, Kandel introduced his lecture, “We Are What We Remember,” following with a general summary of two famously tragic cases, in which this glue fails: H.M. and Clive Wearing. Like in the film Memento (which I highly recommend), both men lost the abilities to form new memories, a condition called anterograde amnesia. After sufficiently saddening the audience with short clips of these patients, as well as briefly summarizing some older research within the field, Kandel went into his recent work.

Through a long series of graphs and data only intriguing to us neuroscience nerds, Kandel discussed his journey to discovering normal age-related memory loss to be distinct from Alzheimer’s. In other words, he found that signs of slight memory decline with age are not necessarily indicators of disease–these can be normal. Put simply, Kandel explained that the brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s are separate from those that undergo normal age-related decline. We’ll all inevitably lose some cognitive function, basically, so don’t worry–it’s natural.

Kandel found hope, however, in blood and bones. His second point gave the public another reason to trudge grudgingly over to the gym: exercise explicitly improves cognitive function. Essentially, recent research showed that bones release a hormone (osteocalcin, for those who care) that, among other things, improves memory function in the brain, which Kandel could detect within the blood of his mouse models. Exercise increases this hormone release, so head on over to the Dodge for a boost before your next midterm, I suppose. Kandel prefers the pool and tennis court, if you’d like to talk neuroscience.

Unfortunately, even though 50% of 90-year-olds are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, very little treatment is currently available. Kandel’s discoveries offer hope. “Even though it has been disappointing so far, we’re on the verge of significant research,” he said. “[Neuroscience] is a field that is just emerging, [and it is] work we want to encourage.”

Dr. Eric Kandel, via his faculty photo on the 90s-tastic CU Biological Sciences web page