tACS for 20 minutes over 4 consecutive days can improve both short- and long-term memory for at least 1 month in older adults, new research suggests. NeuroTwitter
. Electrical currents were delivered through electrodes embedded in a cap worn by participants.
Targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at 60 Hz selectively improved long-term memory, without changing short-term memory. "In other words, the memory benefits are accumulating at some rate during the 4-day intervention. And this rate of improvement is highly predictive of the size of the memory benefits we see 1 month later," Reinhart noted.
Coinvestigator Shrey Grover, PhD candidate in the brain, behavior and cognition program at Boston University, said the researchers have not observed any adverse events during the stimulation,"so it's quite tolerable." "We need these kinds of real-world endpoints, not just the laboratory ones, that are more relevant for reducing the severe functional, social, and economic impact of impaired cognition that comes with age to really bring this intervention from the bench to the bedside," Reinhart said.Heather Snyder, PhD, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, called the study"interesting and encouraging.
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