London, Europe Brief News – A new study has discovered a new treatment for lzheimer’s disease.
The scientists affirmed that they can boost people’s memory for at least a month by harmlessly stimulating parts of the brain with electricity.
Volunteers performed better at word memorisation games, which tested both their immediate “working” memory and their long-term memory, experts found.
Exactly what the results mean for day-to-day life is still unclear.
But ideas range from helping old people cope with memory decline, to treating disease and aiding exam preparation.
Dr Robert Reinhart, from Boston University, described the stimulation technique as “an entirely different approach to isolating and augmenting parts of the brain” which offered “an entirely new realm of potential treatment options”.
People on the trial wore a cap filled with electrodes. A controlled electrical current, which feels similar to an itch or a tingle, was then used to precisely alter brainwaves in targeted regions of the brain.
The volunteers underwent 20 minutes of stimulation daily for four days in a row. Throughout the study they had to memorise lists of words, which they were again asked to recall one month later.
Dr Reinhart said the treatment “could cause selective memory improvement that lasts for at least one month”.
The results, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, showed those volunteers who were struggling with the memory games at the beginning of the experiment were those whose memory improved the most.
