Imagine a busy restaurant: dishes clattering, music playing, people talking loudly over one another. It's a wonder that anyone in that kind of environment can focus enough to have a conversation. A new study by researchers at Brown University's Carney Institute for Brain Science provides some of the most detailed insights yet into the brain mechanisms that help people pay attention amid such distraction, as well as what's happening when they...

Scientists found that the molecule KIBRA helps stabilize memory by binding to PKMζ, an enzyme that strengthens brain connections, allowing memories to last for years despite the constant turnover of proteins in the brain.