New findings on 'critical junction' in the brain could have implications for treating Alzheimer's

The hippocampus is critical for the ability to transform daily experience into lasting memories. Scientists from UCLA believe that by stimulating the entorhinal cortex with electrical impulses memory was strengthened. The scientists believe the findings could have implications for treating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

The scientists followed seven epilepsy patients who already had electrodes implanted in their brain to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. They monitored the electrodes to record neuron activity as memories were being formed and found that when they stimulated nerve fibres in the patients' entorhinal cortex during learning, they later recognised landmarks and navigated the routes more quickly on a computer game they were using for the test.

Alzheimer's Society comment:

'We still don't know exactly what happens in the brains of people with Alzheimer's to cause symptoms such as memory problems. Research which could broaden our knowledge of this is therefore essential. However this is a very preliminary and small trial looking at people with epilepsy. Much more research is needed before we can know for sure if these findings have any bearings for people with dementia.

'Dementia research is desperately underfunded. A million people will develop dementia in the next ten years. We must invest now.'

Dr Anne Corbett
Research Manager
Alzheimer's Society

Research Reference: Nanthia Suthana, Ph.D., Memory Enhancement and Deep-Brain Stimulation of the Entorhinal Area in the New England Journal of Medicine

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