In a new study published in the journal eLife, University of California-Los Angeles scientists were able to restore lost memories in a marine snail species called the Aplysia — which has similar cellular and molecular functions as humans —  by triggering regrowth of previously destroyed synaptic connections between neurons, Medical News Today reports. 
 

David Glanzman, with the departments of Integrative Biology and Physiology and Neurobiology at UCLA, said the team’s findings may lead to new treatments for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
 

He explained that scientists have long believed that long-term memories are stored in the synapses — the structures that allow electrical or chemical signals to be sent between brain cells, or neurons. But according to Glanzman and colleagues, their findings indicate this is not the case.
 

"That suggests that the memory is not in the synapses but somewhere else," said Glanzman. "We think it's in the nucleus of the neurons. We haven't proved that, though. Long-term memory is not stored at the synapse. That's a radical idea, but that's where the evidence leads. The nervous system appears to be able to regenerate lost synaptic connections. If you can restore the synaptic connections, the memory will come back. It won't be easy, but I believe it's possible."