The researchers found that the application of a low-voltage current can synchronize brain waves, allowing people to perform better in tasks involving working memory. The hope is that the approach could one day be used to circumvent damaged areas of the brain and they send signals in people with traumatic brain injury, accident stroke or epilepsy. The team found that buzzing brain with electricity could givea performance boost to memory processes when trying to remembernames at a party, or even a brief shopping list phone numbers. The brain is in a constant state of vibration, with this activity as brainwavesfluctuate at different frequencies and in different regions, maintaining a constant 'beat'.
In a new study, a team from Imperial College London found that applying a weak electric current through the scalp of participants helps toalign different parts of the brain. This syncs your brainwaves and allowed them to maintain the same 'beat', helping them to improve theirmemory. 'What we see is that people perform best when the two waves had the same rate and at the same time,' said the Dr. Ines RibeiroViolante, a neuroscientist at the Department of medicine Imperial, who led the research. In the trial, conducted in collaboration with the University College of London, the team used a technique called Transcranial stimulation of AC (TAC) to handle the regular rhythm of the brain. Dr. Violante and equipment use ATC to two regions of the brain- the Middle frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobe, which are known to be involved in working memory.
Ten volunteers were asked to carry out a number of tasks of increasing difficulty memory while receiving electrical stimulation to the twobrain regions. These stimuli were at slightly different times, at the time, or only a quick explosion, to give the impression of having received the full treatment. In one of the experiments of working memory, participants looked at a screen where the numbers flashed up and hadto remember if a number was the same as the previous one. In the case of the toughest test, the participants had to remember if the current matching number of the two previous numbers.
The results showed that when the regions of the brain is stimulated in synchrony, improve reaction times in the tasks of memory, especially in the most difficult of tasks. ' classical behavior is to make it slowon the more difficult cognitive task, but people more quickly performed with synchronized pacing and as fast as in the simplest task,' saidDr Violante.Previous studies have shown that brain stimulation with electromagnetic waves or electric current can have an effect on brainactivity - field remains controversial due to lack of reproducibility. But using functional MRI to image the brain activated equipment showchanges in activity that occurs during the stimulation, electrical power potentially by modulating the flow of information. 'we can use TACto manipulate the activity of key brain networks and we can see whatis happening with fMRI,' explained Dr. Violante.' results show that when the stimulation was synchronized, there was an increase in activityin the regions involved in the task.' when he was out of sync the opposite was observed effect.' However, one of the main obstacles to make treatment widely available is the individual nature of the brains ofthe people. Not only have the electrodes to obtain the correct frequency, but point to the right side of the brain and the pace in time. Dr.Violante added: "we use a technique that is very cheap, and it is oneof the advantages that we hope will bring if it is translatable to the clinic. '" the next step is to see if the brain stimulation in patients with brain injury, in combination with imaging of the brain, where patientshave injuries that impair communication from long range in their brains."hope is that it could eventually be used for these patients, or even those who have suffered a stroke or epilepsy. "Professor David Sharp, a neurologist at the Department of Medicine of the Imperial and lead author on the paper, said: 'We are very excited about the potential of brain stimulation to treat patients.' work with patients who often have big problems with the working memory after his headinjuries, so it would be great to have a way to improve current treatments" that it may not always work for them. ' our next step is to try the enfoqu
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