Brain prostheses would (partially) restore memory

Brain prostheses would partially restore memory

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    Thanks to a simple implant, patients suffering from brain damage were able to improve their memory by up to 50%, according to a recent study.

    This is a real feat in the medical world. Twenty patients suffering from brain damage have seen their memory improve after having an electrode implanted in the brain, capable of mimicking its activity.

    A device that mimics the electrical activity of the hippocampus

    In this study, 24 patients with refractory focal epilepsy (a chronic brain condition characterized by partial seizures) were fitted with electrodes. Some also suffered from brain damage.

    During the tests, each volunteer had to observe an image, then recognize it 15 to 90 minutes later (this is called long-term memory).

    A detail that is important: when the participants looked at the image for the first time, the electrodes were activated. Then, these reproduced the electrical signals naturally produced by the hippocampus (the damaged area in memory disorders) when encoding new memories.

    Results ? No doubt for Professor Robert Hampson: “Our structured stimulation of the hippocampus during encoding improves recall and recognition up to 90 minutes later“.

    Even better, the greater the “initial” memory impairments of the participants, the more effective the electrode stimulation was.

    Thanks to this method, some patients showed a marked improvement in their memory – up to 50%.

    Good in your body, good in your head!

    Stop memory decline

    These results are therefore very promising for the researchers, who had developed this device to treat “traumatic” memory loss in soldiers.

    A completely revolutionary discovery according to Professor Robert Hampson.

    This is a profound improvement in the restoration of memory function”, enthuses the professor, before adding “Our goal is to be able to stop the decline in memory function – d to add quality of life and more productive years to patients with Alzheimer’s disease“.

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