14 DAY TRIAL // SF movies have achieved it before, but now it's real: electrical stimulation of specific brain nuclei could boost memory. A Canadian team describes in its article published in the "Annals of Neurology" how this was achieved in the case of an obese man who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS): the electrical impulses triggered vivid memories in this case.
"This is a single case that was totally unexpected. We are sufficiently intrigued to see if this could help people with memory disorders," said lead researcher Professor Andres Lozano, of the Toronto Western Hospital.
The team tried to treat the 50-year-old obese man with type 2 diabetes and sleeping disorders, who did not respond to diet, drugs and psychological approach. He had rejected the idea of gastric surgery, and the experimental deep brain stimulation was his last resort, as animal tests proved it would be effective. DBS worked well in cases of Parkinson's, chronic pain, severe cluster headaches and partial depression.
In this case, the team stimulated the hypothalamus, the nucleus known to control the appetite, but also the memory formation. The electrical impulses induced in the patient the sensation of deja-vu and revived him experiences of being in a park with friends, or him at around 20-years-old, and his girlfriend at that time. The man felt himself as an observer, and all the memories were in color. The details of the memories increased as the impulses were more intense.
After DBS procedure, the patient required two months of recovery, but a second DBS session induced the same effect. Following 3 weeks of constant DBS, the patient improved its scores in memory tests. A year later, he displayed increased memory performance with the DBS, which decreased when the electrodes were switched off.
"We hopefully have found a circuit in the brain which can be modulated by stimulation, and which might provide benefit to patients with memory disorders," said Lozano, who is leading now a trial checking if DBS could help patients with early Alzheimer's disease.