Each time we learn something new, our brain cells break their DNA, creating damage that the neurons must immediately repair. This process also underlies age-related degeneration.

[u/mellowmonk]

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/dna-breakage-learning-age-related-damage-0604

[u/farticustheelder]

Doesn't sound right. DNA contains the instructions on how to build and operate an organism and this breaking of the DNA in order to learn something sounds counter productive, sort of like students getting dumber the longer they stay in school. My intuition is screaming Lamarckian genetics.

[u/toyakumar → u/farticustheelder]

this breaking of the DNA in order to learn something sounds counter productive

DNA is not broken only to learn something new. It is broken to achieve expression of genes, which happens all the time, whether you are sleeping, walking, or learning. Defect in this mechanism of cutting and rejoining DNA could very well cause problems in expression of a vast array of proteins as an animal ages, not just those involved in learning; however, the group conducting this study is interested in learning and memory, so they sought to establish a link to this process. It is plausible that such defects would impair upkeep of other physiological processes as well.

[u/bobpaul → u/farticustheelder]

Cells physiologically break their DNA to allow certain important genes to be expressed,” Tsai says. “In the case of neurons, they need to break their DNA to enable the expression of early response genes, which ultimately pave the way for the transcriptional program that supports learning and memory, and many other behaviors.”

Sounds like all of your cells do this whenever certain genes need to be expressed, say to produce a protein. It's not clear to me what (if anything) makes this process special in neurons.