Summary: A study from Rush University reports that feeding cinnamon to mice with poor learning ability improved their memory and learning performance.
Source: Rush University.
Study finds spice consumption improved learning in mice
Cinnamon, a familiar kitchen spice used on toast, in coffee and in baked goods, may do more than add flavor. New research published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology suggests that cinnamon can improve learning in mice that initially showed poor performance on memory tasks.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center discovered that when laboratory mice identified as poor learners were fed cinnamon, their learning and memory improved to levels comparable with naturally good learners.
“This would be one of the safest and simplest approaches to convert poor learners to good learners,” said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, Floyd A. Davis Professor of Neurology at Rush and the study’s lead author.
People differ in how easily they learn: some are naturally quick learners, others improve through effort, and some struggle despite practice. Understanding the brain mechanisms behind poor learning is essential for developing strategies to boost memory and learning ability.
How cinnamon affected the brain
The researchers focused on the hippocampus, a brain region central to forming and storing memories. They found that poor-learning mice had lower levels of CREB, a protein important for memory and learning, and higher levels of the alpha5 subunit of the GABAA receptor (GABRA5), which produces tonic inhibitory signals in the brain, compared with good learners.
When the mice were given ground cinnamon orally, their bodies metabolized it into sodium benzoate (NaB), a compound with known neuroprotective effects. Sodium benzoate crossed into the brain and produced several beneficial changes in the hippocampus: it increased CREB activity, reduced GABRA5 expression, and enhanced neuronal plasticity—the ability of neurons to change and form new connections.
Those biochemical and cellular changes translated into measurable behavioral improvements. Poor-learning mice that received cinnamon showed better spatial memory and learning on tests designed to assess hippocampal function.
To identify poor and good learners, the team used a Barnes maze, an elevated circular platform with 20 holes where only one hole leads to an escape box. After two days of training, mice were categorized by their ability to find the target hole. The team then continued cinnamon feeding for one month and reassessed performance.
After treatment, mice originally classified as poor learners performed at levels similar to good learners. In contrast, mice that were already good learners showed no significant improvement from cinnamon, suggesting the effect is specific to animals with baseline learning deficits.
“Individual differences in learning and educational performance are a global challenge,” Pahan noted. “These findings warrant further research to determine whether similar approaches could help poor learners beyond the laboratory setting.”
Additional findings and considerations
This research builds on prior work by Pahan and colleagues showing cinnamon’s benefits in other neurological contexts, including models of Parkinson’s disease. The team also compared common cinnamon types and found differences in purity: Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) appeared purer, while Cassia cinnamon (often labeled as Chinese cinnamon) can contain coumarin, a compound potentially harmful to the liver. Both types are metabolized to sodium benzoate, but purity may affect safety considerations.
Funding: The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Source: Deb Song, Rush University
Original research: “Cinnamon Converts Poor Learning Mice to Good Learners: Implications for Memory Improvement” by Khushbu K. Modi, Suresh B. Rangasamy, Sridevi Dasarathi, Avik Roy, and Kalipada Pahan. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. Published online June 24, 2016. doi:10.1007/s11481-016-9693-6
Abstract — Cinnamon Converts Poor Learning Mice to Good Learners: Implications for Memory Improvement
This study highlights the role of cinnamon and its metabolite sodium benzoate (NaB) in converting poor-learning mice into good learners. NaB, but not sodium formate, upregulated molecules linked to synaptic plasticity, enhanced NMDA- and AMPA-mediated calcium influx, and increased dendritic spine density in cultured hippocampal neurons. NaB activated CREB via protein kinase A (PKA), which drove the expression of plasticity-related proteins. In poor-learning mice, spatial-memory–induced activation of CREB and expression of plasticity-related proteins were reduced compared with good learners. Oral treatment with cinnamon or NaB enhanced CREB activation and plasticity-related protein expression during spatial memory consolidation in poor-learning mice, restoring their learning performance to levels seen in good learners. These results reveal a novel effect of cinnamon in improving hippocampal plasticity and reversing poor learning.