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Long-lasting memories require specific gene expression programmes that are, in part, orchestrated by epigenetic mechanisms such as histone acetylation. Gräff and Tsai review the roles of histone acetylation in memory and consider whether histone deacetylase inhibitors might have promise as therapeutic interventions against cognitive frailty.
The emergence of human cognition during evolution did not just involve mutations in brain-related genes. In this Review, Khaitovich and colleagues consider the contribution of human-specific changes in metabolism and gene expression, and their underlying mechanisms, to the human cognitive phenotype.
