Maryland ? An experimental cancer drug seems to have a surprising effect: It may aid in learning and memory, according to new animal studies.

The finding, reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was so striking that the investigators are already talking to the Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials.

The anti-cancer drug, called bryostatin, is a potent activator of protein kinase-C.

Scientists also have documented protein kinase-C’s role in learning and memory formation in the brain. Now, Alkon and colleagues have put this learning and memory finding to the test in snails. In the latest study, Alkon fed bryostatin to snails three days before they were put through several learning tasks. As the drug activated protein kinase-C, it led to long-term memories of the task.

In other studies of animals prone to a disease akin to human Alzheimer’s, the medicine reduced buildup of the clumpy protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer-prone animals, Alkon said.

The scientists say that the medicine could protect the Alzheimer’s brain by making protein kinase-C more readily available to create long-term memories.