Study: Electrical pulses return memory of Alzheimer’s patients to someone in their 20s
The memory of older people has been returned to the state of someone in their 20s for the first time by applying electrical stimulation to the brain to reconnect faulty circuits. Scientists at Boston University have proven it is possible to restore working memory by “recoupling” areas of the brain that become out-of-sync as people grow older.
Sometimes described as being “mentally online”, working memory forms the basis of consciousness, but declines with age and is the reason elderly people can struggle with basic tasks.Two areas in the brain, the prefrontal and temporal cortex must be talking to each other correctly for working memory to function well.
Lead author Dr Robert Reinhart, of Boston University, said: “We’re re–synchronising these brain areas that are uncoupled or less synchronised in the elderly; we’re re-synchronising them and seeing behavioural benefits. These findings … not only give us new insights into the basis for working memory decline but show that negative age–related changes are not unchangeable, we can bring back the superior working memory function that you had when you were much younger.
They hope that electrodes will eventually be implanted into hats or headsets which could be administered by doctors or even at home, to give a helpful memory boost when needed.
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