Molecular cellular cognition (MCC) is a branch of
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
that involves the study of cognitive processes with approaches that integrate molecular, cellular and behavioral mechanisms. Key goals of MCC studies include the derivation of molecular and cellular explanations of cognitive processes, as well as finding mechanisms and treatments for
cognitive disorder
Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), also known as cognitive disorders (CDs), are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving. Neurocognitive disorders in ...
s.
Although closely connected with
behavioral genetics
Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...
, MCC emphasizes the integration of molecular and cellular explanations of behavior, instead of focusing on the connections between genes and behavior.
Unlike
cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the Biology, biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental ...
, which historically has focused on the connection between
human brain
The human brain is the central organ (anatomy), organ of the nervous system, and with the spinal cord, comprises the central nervous system. It consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. The brain controls most of the activi ...
systems and behavior, the field of MCC has used model organisms, such as mice, to study how molecular (i.e. receptor,
kinase
In biochemistry, a kinase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule don ...
activation,
phosphatase
In biochemistry, a phosphatase is an enzyme that uses water to cleave a phosphoric acid Ester, monoester into a phosphate ion and an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol. Because a phosphatase enzyme catalysis, catalyzes the hydrolysis of its Substrate ...
regulation), intra-cellular (i.e.
dendritic
Dendrite derives from the Greek word "dendron" meaning ( "tree-like"), and may refer to:
Biology
*Dendrite, a branched projection of a neuron
*Dendrite (non-neuronal), branching projections of certain skin cells and immune cells
Physical
*Dendri ...
processes), and inter-cellular processes (i.e.
synaptic plasticity
In neuroscience, synaptic plasticity is the ability of synapses to Chemical synapse#Synaptic strength, strengthen or weaken over time, in response to increases or decreases in their activity. Since memory, memories are postulated to be represent ...
; network representations such as place fields) modulate cognitive function.
Methods employed in MCC include (but are not limited to)
transgenic organisms (i.e. mice),
viral vector
A viral vector is a modified virus designed to gene delivery, deliver genetic material into cell (biology), cells. This process can be performed inside an organism or in cell culture. Viral vectors have widespread applications in basic research, ...
s,
pharmacology
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...
, ''in vitro'' and ''in vivo''
,
optogenetics
Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by Gene expression, expression of Channelrhodopsin, light-sensitive ion channels, Halorhodopsin, pumps or Photoactivated ade ...
, ''in vivo'' imaging, and behavioral analysis. Modeling has become an essential component of the field because of the complexity of the multilevel data generated.
Scientific roots
The field of MCC has its roots in the pioneering pharmacological studies of the role of
NMDA receptor
The ''N''-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (also known as the NMDA receptor or NMDAR), is a glutamate receptor and predominantly Ca2+ ion channel found in neurons. The NMDA receptor is one of three types of ionotropic glutamate receptors, the other ...
in
long-term potentiation
In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. These are patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neuron ...
and
spatial learning
In cognitive psychology and neuroscience, spatial memory is a form of memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information needed to plan a course to a location and to recall the location of an object or the occurrence of an event. Sp ...
and in studies that used
knockout mice
A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse (''Mus musculus'') in which researchers have inactivated, or " knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are importan ...
to look at the role of the
alpha calcium calmodulin kinase II and
FYN
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn (p59-FYN, Slk, Syn, MGC45350, Gene ID 2534) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FYN'' gene.
Fyn is a 59-kDa member of the Src family of kinases typically associated with T-cell and neurona ...
kinase in
hippocampal
The hippocampus (: hippocampi; via Latin from Greek , 'seahorse'), also hippocampus proper, is a major component of the brain of humans and many other vertebrates. In the human brain the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus, and the subiculum ar ...
long-term potentiation and spatial learning. The field has since expanded to include a large array of molecules including
CREB
CREB-TF (CREB, cAMP response element-binding protein) is a cellular transcription factor. It binds to certain DNA sequences called cAMP response elements (CRE), thereby increasing or decreasing the transcription of the genes. CREB was first des ...
.
Foundation of the field
MCC became an organized field with the formation of the
Molecular Cellular Cognition Society
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...
, an organization with no membership fees and meetings that emphasize the participation of junior scientists. Its first meeting took place in Orlando, Florida on November first, 2002. , the society had organized numerous meetings in North America, Europe, and Asia, and included more than 4000 members.
References
External links
Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society
{{Neuroscience
Cognition
Molecular neuroscience