Brain Stimulation Could Help Improve Memory for Older Adults, Study Finds

A study published in Neurology suggests a potential treatment for reversing memory decline in older adults, reports Earth.com . Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) of the hippocampus improved memory to such a level that older adults achieved the same scores as younger groups on memory tests. Sixteen participants, aged 64 to 80, were administered TMS to the hippocampus, with the researchers applying the procedure to a target above the left ear by the parietal lobe. "We stimulated where brain activity is synchronized to the hippocampus, suggesting that these regions talk to each other," said Aneesha Nilakantan with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Prior to stimulation, all participants completed memory tasks to assess memory ability, learning relationships between paired items and later remembering these pairings. The older subjects recalled less than 40 percent of the correct pairings. After high-frequency stimulation for 20 minutes a day over five consecutive days, the same test yielded identical scores, regardless of participants' age.