from Northwestern University
A new field of possibilities for treating memory impairments, without surgery or drugs, is reported from Northwestern University. Researchers used non-invasive magnetic pulses, called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, to improve the ability to learn new things, even long after the treatment. The study involved healthy adults up to age forty. They performed better on memory tests after the magnetic stimulation. Senior author Joel Voss says the study is the first to demonstrate that remembering events requires many brain regions to work together and the magnetic stimulation appears to improve that brain communication. The improvement impressed researchers, since these volunteers with normal memory already had effective brain functions. Voss says the results with healthy volunteers opens up a whole new area of treatment to try to improve brain functions in people who really need it.