A group of scientists is studying memory in mice. They feed sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, to a group of older mice and then subject them to memory exercises. How do you predict the memory of treated mice might compare with the memory of untreated mice?
A) Histone acetylation increases with age, so sodium butyrate may improve memory in older mice.
B) Histone acetylation increases with age, so sodium butyrate may impair memory in older mice.
C) Histone acetylation decreases with age, so sodium butyrate may improve memory in older mice.
D) Histone acetylation decreases with age, so sodium butyrate may impair memory in older mice.
E) Histone acetylation is not associated with memory in mice.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Histone acetylation generally decreases with age, leading to reduced gene expression. Sodium butyrate, as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, can increase histone acetylation, potentially improving memory by enhancing gene expression related to memory in older mice.

A Group of Scientists Is Studying Memory in Mice