A Seoul National University research team says it has found that a specific protein plays a key role in signal transmissions related to long-term memory in organisms.

The team led by professor Kang Bonggyun says it discovered the protein "CAMAP," which exists in synapses in the neural system that delivers outside stimuli. Kang says the protein passes on acquired signals to the cell nucleus and is then synthesized into a protein necessary for maintaining long-term memory.

He said that further research on such memory-related substances and their signal transmission systems could, over the long-term, lead to important ways to enhance human memory and cure conditions such as dementia and forgetfulness.

The team's discovery will be published in the May issue of Cell magazine.