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Study Finds Jolt to the Brain Boosts Memory
from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)
In an experiment likely to raise new hopes for those with memory-robbing diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers have found that sending an electrical jolt to a part of the brain that plays a key role in memory improved people's ability to learn--and remember--their way across an unfamiliar landscape.
The study, conducted at UCLA and published in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, was small and highly preliminary, involving just seven patients with epilepsy. But deep brain stimulation helped all seven subjects--including some who suffered memory impairment--navigate faster and more accurately through a virtual town.
Since the treatment also gave a boost to subjects with no signs of dementia, the study is likely to reignite a simmering debate over the ethics of enhancing the mental capacities of people in perfect cognitive health, experts said.
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