{"id":12841,"date":"2022-08-23T10:57:17","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T10:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/23\/electrical-currents-to-the-brain-improve-memory-for-older-adults-study-finds\/"},"modified":"2022-08-23T10:57:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T10:57:17","slug":"electrical-currents-to-the-brain-improve-memory-for-older-adults-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/23\/electrical-currents-to-the-brain-improve-memory-for-older-adults-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Electrical currents to the brain improve memory for older adults, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/23316230\/brain-stimulation-memory-short-long-alzheimers<\/a>
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Pulsing electrical currents through the brain for 20 minutes <\/strong>can boost memory for older adults for at least a month, according to a new study. <\/p>\n

Around 8 percent of people<\/a> in the US get diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease or dementia as they get older \u2014 significantly impairing their memory \u2014 and an even larger group of older adults has some degree of age-related memory loss. This new study is only a first look at a potential solution. But easy, quick treatments like this one could become even more important as the world\u2019s population rapidly ages<\/a> \u2014 especially if future research shows that it can help with more serious cognitive conditions. <\/p>\n

The brain stimulation done in this study<\/a>, published Monday in Nature Neuroscience,<\/em> came from a swim cap-like device studded with electrodes positioned to deliver the electric current to specific areas of the brain. The research team was interested in two main areas: one that\u2019s linked with working memory (which holds information temporarily and overlaps with short-term memory) and another linked with long-term memory. <\/p>\n

The research team divided 60 participants between the ages of 65 and 88 into three groups: one group wore the device but didn\u2019t get any electrical stimulation; the second received stimulation in the region associated with working memory; and the third received stimulation in the area associated with long-term memory. For four consecutive days, the participants received the treatment (or fake treatment) while performing a memory task where they were read a list of 20 words and asked to recall them. The researchers looked to see how often they remembered the words at the beginning of the list (long-term memory) and the end of the list (working memory).<\/p>\n

Both working and long-term memory improved over the course of the four days, the study found. \u201cWe watched the memory improvements accumulate over time with each passing day,\u201d said study author Robert Reinhart, a professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, during a press briefing. And participants still had improved memory one month later.<\/p>\n

Unlike drugs and medications, which target the chemistry of the brain, this type of approach targets the brain\u2019s electrical systems. The electrical stimulation likely helps improve the brain\u2019s growth and change in areas that are important for memory, said study author Shrey Grover, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at Boston University, during the briefing. \u201cOur brains are plastic and they can be changed as we learn,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

People who had faster memory improvements during the four-day study had bigger boosts to their memory after one month, Reinhart said. And the people who had the biggest jumps were the ones who had the worst cognitive abilities before the study started. <\/p>\n

Right now, the device used in the study is just <\/strong>an experimental tool. But it\u2019s safe and has few side effects other than some itching and tingling \u2014 so if research continues to show that it\u2019s useful for things like memory, it\u2019s possible to imagine that it could be available to patients in a doctor\u2019s office, Reinhart says.<\/p>\n

The people in this study didn\u2019t have specific disorders like Alzheimer\u2019s disease, but the research team plans to keep testing this type of treatment in people with that condition. They\u2019re also looking at other types of conditions that affect cognitive functioning, like schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are dozens of potential applications for brain stimulation, Reinhart says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different approach to isolating and augmenting parts of the brain that serve certain functions \u2014 like how we perceive, and attend, and remember, and learn, and respond to information from our environment,\u201d Reinhart says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/23316230\/brain-stimulation-memory-short-long-alzheimers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Pulsing electrical currents through the brain for 20 minutes can boost memory for older adults for at least a month, according to a new study. 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