Two complementary studies recently found that noninvasive and extremely mild brain stimulation could be used to improve episodic and working memory in older adults.
“We can make these 60 and 70-year-olds look strikingly like our 20-year-old participants,” researcher Robert Reinharttold Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald.
As we age many aspects of our memory deteriorate. The effects can range from irritating, when we can’t remember where we left the car keys, to embarrassment when we forget names in a conversation, to tragedy, in pathological conditions like dementia.
This new research suggests, though, that we we might be able to boost memory in the future with just a simple zap to the brain, and the therapeutic potential of this technology could be huge.
Using magnetic induction to boost neural signals
The first study used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce mild neural firing in the brain.
The researchers hoped this stimulation would increase communication between the hippocampus, the region deep within the brain that’s critically responsible for episodic or long-term memory, and the cortical network connected to the hippocampus on the outer surface of the brain.
