The ability to memorize is usually lost with age, however, this process may not be irreversible, as there are indications that lost memory can be recovered.
Some innovative techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, seem to be able to reverse the memory loss that often accompanies aging.
- A study published by Robert MG Reinhart and John A.
- Nguyen has shown that this technique equates the memory of the elderly with that of young people.
- Then we will talk more about this discovery.
“Memory is the sentinel of the brain. ” ? William Shakespeare?
Many people complain that they have trouble keeping everyday names, dates, or aspects after a certain age.
One of the most common symptoms is the loss of working memory or working memory that we use every day, this type of memory allows us to store phone numbers for a few seconds, perform calculations, make quick decisions and manage everyday situations.
In short, it is the one that allows us to store and manipulate information temporarily.
Over the years, this capacity has been reduced, which can become a disadvantage so that we can perform our day-to-day tasks well.
Why do we lose this ability to memorize even without having a neurodegenerative disease?It is not yet known what the answer to this question is.
One of the recently published observations concluded that the synchronicity of neurons when stimulated is important for memory maintenance.
Neurons are cells that respond to stimuli and transmit them to other neurons, however, when they do so unevenly, it would be the equivalent of an orchestra without agreement, the result would be a cacophony.
As a result, when neurons lose their timing, memory begins to fail
A study published in the journal Nature used transcranial magnetic stimulation to stimulate neurons and attempt to recover lost memory, involving volunteers between 60 and 70 years and 30 years younger.
Participants were stimulated in various regions of the brain related to memory activity for 25 minutes, during this period recovery of synchronization between neurons in these regions of memory was observed.
After stimulation, surprisingly, people regained mental alertness at levels comparable to those of young volunteers.
However, this incredible recovery ended 50 minutes after the stimulation, after this period, older people returned to their previous memory levels.
Although memory recovery has only happened momentarily, scientists say this experiment shows that memory loss is not an irreversible phenomenon.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation could be a promising treatment to improve symptoms of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease without medication.
In addition to stimulating neurons and improving memory, this treatment can also be applied to treat other health problems.
It is used, for example, to correct dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) after an injury. In this case, the cerebellum area is stimulated to stimulate the muscles of the esophagus and improve swallowing capacity.
Surely the number of ways to apply this treatment will increase as the technique improves. It is possible that, in the not too distant future, we will have the ‘laptops’ that can be used in a personalized way according to the needs of each one.