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The Cutting Edge

Weak Burst of Electricity Can Help to Improve Memory

Weak Burst of Electricity Can Help to Improve Memory

Placement of entorhinal microelectrodes (red dots) was determined from co-registration of preoperative high-resolution MRI and postoperative CT scans.
Image: Courtesy of Drs. Itzhak Fried and Nanthia Suthana

UCLA neuroscientists have discovered precisely where and how to electrically stimulate the human brain to enhance people's recollection of distinct memories. People with epilepsy who received low-current electrical pulses showed a significant improvement in their ability to recognize specific faces and ignore similar ones.

Eight of nine patients' ability to recognize the faces of specific people improved after receiving electrical pulses to the right side of the brain's entorhinal area, which is critical to learning and memory. However, electrical stimulation delivered to the left side of the region, tested on four other people, resulted in no improvement in the patient's recall.

The study, led by Itzhak Fried, MD, PhD '81, professor of neurosurgery, and Nanthia Suthana, PhD '09 (FEL '12), assistant professor-in-residence in neurosurgery, builds on 2012 research at UCLA demonstrating that human memory can be strengthened by electrically stimulating the brain's entorhinal cortex.

The researchers followed 13 people with epilepsy who had ultrafine wires implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. The team monitored the wires to record neuron activity as memories were formed, then sent a specific pattern of quick pulses back into the entorhinal area. Using the ultrafine wires allowed researchers to target the stimulation but use a voltage as low as one-tenth to one-fifth as strong as had been used in previous studies.

The study suggests that even low currents of electricity can affect the brain circuits that control memory and human learning. It also illustrates the importance of precisely targeting the stimulation to the right entorhinal region. Other studies that applied stimulation over a wide swath of brain tissue have produced conflicting results. Electrical stimulation could offer promise for treating memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

“Theta-burst Microstimulation in the Human Entorhinal Area Improves Memory Specificity,” eLife, October 24, 2017


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Winter 2018

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IN THIS ISSUE
  • Partners in Care
  • Mobile Stroke Unit: Hospital on Wheels
  • Sip Black Tea to Drop Pounds
  • As Re-hospitalizations Go Down, Mortality Goes Up
  • Modified Herpes Virus Shows Promise for Treating Advanced Melanoma
  • Weak Burst of Electricity Can Help to Improve Memory
  • Heart's Pumping Function Doesn't Indicate Heart Failure Survival Rates
  • Biomarkers Could Reveal Undetected Concussions
  • Researchers Create Molecule that Could 'Kick and Kill' HIV
  • Study Blames Mental Lapses on Sleep-deprived Brain Cells
  • Behavioral Therapy Increases Connectivity in Brains of People with OCD
  • New Direction in Hand Transplantation
  • UCLA Vine Street Clinic
  • Tailor Made
  • Ilana and the Stowaway
  • Heartfelt
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  • In Memoriam
  • Department of Surgery Celebrates Inaugural Paul I. Terasaki Chair in Surgery
  • Out of Africa, Into Iraq
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  • UCLA Health System Board Meeting Features Stroke Care
  • UCLA Launches New Mobile Stroke Unit
  • UCLA Operation Mend Marks a 10-year Milestone
  • Celebrating 60 Years of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research
  • The Spectacular Sounds of Autism
  • Family’s Bravery Leads to Generosity
  • A Legacy for Loved Ones
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  • ‘I Have Been on Both Sides’
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