My migraine (and other headache-suffering) friends and I have long noticed a correlation between eating spicy foods and a cessation or reduction in pain symptoms, especially headache pain. Now, Science (specifically, scienceblog) says that not only are we right about that, but those same pain receptors may be involved in learning and memory.
“activation of TPRV1 receptors can trigger long-term depression, a phenomenon that creates lasting changes in the connections between neurons…believed to be the cellular basis for memory making.”
So (maybe) eating spicy foods will cure your headaches and improve your grades? I think I will have to watch the Brown University Research Team to see where their research leads, but it sounds good so far. Pass the pepper, please.
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Russell Coker | 17-Mar-08 at 5:45 am | Permalink
The post you cite was quite unclear, but the section “treated rat brain tissue from the hippocampus, the brain’s seat of learning and memory, with capsaicin. The team found that this compound activated TRPV1 channels – which alone triggered long-term depression in the brain tissue” seems to indicate that capsaicin causes depression.
But if migraines are something that causes a problem for you and depression isn’t then chilli is probably a good idea. I’ll have some now.
Kat | 18-Mar-08 at 11:16 am | Permalink
I thought that too, when I first looked at the post. However, when I read it again, I noticed that they (sort of) define “depression” in the beginning of the article:
“activation of TPRV1 receptors can trigger long-term depression, a phenomenon that creates lasting changes in the connections between neurons. These changes in the brain – and the related process of neural reorganization known as long-term potentiation – are believed to be the cellular basis for memory making.”
I’m not *totally* sure, but it sounds like they mean this kind of depression, not the mood-altering kind.