Electrical Brain Stimulation Restores Memories in Elderly

Promising news:

Electrical jolts to brain restored memory of elderly to that of 20-year-old https://t.co/ZsQT0Y3POQ by @BethMarieMole

— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) April 9, 2019

Ars Technica reports that “…jolts of alternating current to the brain restored the waning working memories of older adults (aged 60 to 76 years old) to performance levels seen in younger adults,” although the effects were temporary, lasting less than an hour.

The article examines results originally published Monday on Nature.com.

Ars Technica explains that prior to receiving electrical stimulation, the older adults “could spot differences with an 80-percent accuracy rate. A separate group of 42 younger people had an accuracy rate around 90 percent.”

After 10 minutes or so of treatment, “the older group saw an improvement in accuracy rate on the test, reaching the younger group’s 90-percent accuracy rate.”

The original authors say the results provided “insight” and “contribute to groundwork for future non-pharmacological interventions targeting aspects of cognitive decline.”

It was a small study that “needs to be replicated,” but promising nevertheless.