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An electric current will help you remember

29.11.2012

Name your classmates ... At this point, groups of neurons send a lot of signals along established neural pathways in order to remember the answer to this question, which once did not cause any difficulty. Researchers from Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems have just found a way to "look" inside the brain and reveal an accurate picture of the activity in the process of remembering. Moreover, they were able to "spur" the brain and "pull" forgotten facts out of it.

Scientists conducted their study based on data from 60 patients with epilepsy who had electrodes implanted in their brains (in order to determine the causes of epileptic seizures). In parallel with their main task, the electrodes constantly recorded information about the normal functioning of the brain, including the functioning of memory. The researchers worked in two directions. First of all, active memory was studied: patients were asked a series of questions aimed at activating short-term memory, for example, they had to remember a sequence of numbers, and then recall it.

The effect of electrical stimuli on the surface of the patient's brain and its effect on memory functioning was also studied. So, during one of the experiments, the subjects were asked to remember their studies at school, and the scientists recorded the brain activity of the subjects in the process of remembering. A few weeks later, the researchers conducted the second part of the experiment, during which the scientists stimulated with electric current the same parts of the brain that were active in the process of "natural recall". As a result, the brain reactivated the same neural pathways that were used to search for memories of school days. Thus, with the help of electrical stimulation, scientists were able to "induce" the brain to remember forgotten things.

It is difficult to use such technology to “fish out” long-forgotten knowledge: firstly, it is necessary to place electrodes on the surface of the brain, and secondly, to record brain activity during the period of memorizing information and then reproduce it. However, the work of scientists provides new insights into the principles of memory functioning and may help in the treatment of some mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.

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