People with cognitive problems - including memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease - may one day be able to have their memories stimulated by an electric current. The researchers used a noninvasive technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation to stimulate a brain region that is involved in memory formation.
Known as the TMS technique uses a weak electric current that strengthen involved through the skull, the communication between brain cells in the memory. This could lead to new treatments for memory disorders due to trauma, disease or aging. Current treatments - such as surgery and drugs - not proven effective.
Neurons are guided by transcranial magnetic stimulation part of a path in the hippocampus, a brain region that is involved in memory formation.
Joel Voss explains neuroscientist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine of Illinois, that the stimulation is painless and non-invasive.
"What the fact coil TMS is that it generates stolen a stimulation pulse And if that sounds like a high-frequency sound touch -. As a duh, duh, duh, play duh sound -. At about 20 clicks per second and clicks on the back of the head of the person in the parietal cortex, and everyone feels like a very light feel on the outside of the head typing, "Voss said.
In a study of 16 healthy adults aged 21 to 40, the researchers took detailed anatomical images of the brain using MRI. Images associated with neural network for each participant.
Topics that have been assigned to look at pictures of faces and remembering random word with each picture then asked.
Participants were TMS 20 minutes each day for five consecutive days. During the week and 24 hours after the last stimulation, individuals in the examination of the association of any image-word over and underwent imaging of the brain examined.
Writing in the journal Science, Voss said his team found the memories of people improve after TMS and MRI showed memory neurons have become more synchronized with each other and hippocampus.
"This particular network the hippocampus have shown that we regular the exact network, in a variety of memory disorders, memory disorders, including brain damage, the injury occurs after a stroke and cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury or concussion, is problematic to manipulate .. breath. memory problems that older people often experience and age of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, "Voss said.
Voss, the next step is to try to stimulate the memory of the elderly and people with mild cognitive impairment with transcranial magnetic stimulation.
He said that healthy people should not try to strengthen their memories with TMS, because it is still experimental.
Watch the video from Northwestern University in TMS: