New research identifies single protein to improve both physical and mental skills

A new research has suggested that physical and mental activities rely on a single metabolic protein that controls the flow of blood and nutrients throughout the body.

Ronald Evans, director of Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory said that this was all about getting energy where the heart and muscles needed a surge of energy to carry out exercise and neurons need a surge of energy to form new memories. This research is believed to help in potential treatments in regenerative and developmental medicine and also in treating learning and memory defects.

This single protein responsible for provoding energy to both muscles and brain has been identified as Estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERR). Evans’ research group has previously studied the role of ERR in the heart and skeletal muscles.

The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.