SHANGHAI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have created a smart transgenic rat whose brain cells communicate a bit longer than usual, shedding light on the possibility of enhancing human memory, a scientist said Tuesday in Shanghai.

    Researchers improved the rat's memory by over-expressing NR2B gene in the hippocampus, a learning and memory center in the brain, said Cao Xiaohua, a professor at a brain science lab of East China Normal University (ECNU).

    "As human beings have a similar NR2B gene, theoretically the research is a boost for the study of improving human memory," Cao said. "The finding also brings hope to patients suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia."

    NR2B is a subunit of NMBA receptors that let in electrically-charged ions to the neurons to facilitate brain cell activity and communications. Over-expressing the gene can make the brain cells communicate longer by about a hundred milliseconds, Cao said.

    The rat with modified NR2B gene, dubbed Hobbie-J after a clever rat that stars in a Chinese cartoon, was quicker in picking up clues that lead to food hidden on a underwater platform, compared to the average Long Evans female rat.

    After the platform is taken away, the rat was still able to find the spot and linger around where the platform used to be.

    Cao co-authored the paper on Hobbie-J that was published Oct.19in PloS One, an influential open-access online journal of scientific and medical researches, with Joe Z. Tsien, co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute, Medical College of Georgia (MCG).

    Tsien developed a smart mouse by over-expressing the NR2B gene a decade ago. The memory improvements of the rat were similar to that of the mouse.

    "This adds to the notion that NR2B is a universal switch for memory formation," Tsien was quoted as saying by Science Daily.