Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News Feature
  • Published:

Neuroscience: Small, furry … and smart

A Correction to this article was published on 15 August 2012

Researchers have engineered more than 30 strains of 'smart mice', revealing possible ways to boost human brains. But, as Jonah Lehrer finds, cognitive enhancement may come at a cost.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kushner, S. A. et al. J. Neurosci. 25, 9721-9734 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Tang, Y.-P. et al. Nature 401, 63-69 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Yin, J. C. P., Del Vecchio, M., Zhou, H. & Tully, T. Cell 81, 107-115 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bourtchouladze, R. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100, 10518-10522 (2003).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Alarcón, J. M. et al. Neuron 42, 947-959 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Korzus, E., Rosenfeld, M. G. & Mayford, M. Neuron 42, 961-972 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ehninger, D., Li, W., Fox, K., Stryker, M. P., & Silva, A. J., Neuron 60, 950-960 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Maher, B. Nature 452, 674-675 (2008).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. McClelland, J. L. in Memory Distortion: How Minds, Brains, and Societies Reconstruct the Past (ed. Schacter, D. L.) 69-90 (Harvard Univ. Press, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hawasli, A. H. et al. Nature Neurosci. 10, 880-886 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Malleret, G. et al. Cell 104, 675-686 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Additional information

Jonah Lehrer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, California.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Would you boost your brain power?

Related external links

Center for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania

Alcino Silva's Lab

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lehrer, J. Neuroscience: Small, furry … and smart. Nature 461, 862–864 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/461862a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/461862a

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing