Working memory revived in older adults by synchronizing rhythmic brain circuits
Professor Robert M.G. Reinhart (CSN) and doctoral student John A. Nguyen published a new study in Nature Neuroscience that demonstrates cognitive improvement in aging adults by applying non-invasive brain stimulation.
As adults age, working memory — the ability to store behaviorally useful information ‘in mind’ over a period of seconds — declines. The prevalence of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults has grown dramatically in recent years. This trend shows no sign of slowing, as the global population ages. Mounting evidence suggests that age-related cognitive decline is caused by increasing dysconnectivity between brain regions that normally work together in a coordinated fashion.
Prof. Reinhart and John Nguyen developed a noninvasive stimulation procedure for modulating long-range theta-band (4-7 Hz) interactions in adults aged 60-76 years. After 25 minutes of stimulation individually tuned to the subject’s brain network dynamics, the researchers observed a preferential increase in neural synchronization patterns. After stimulation, subjects showed rapid improvement in working-memory performance, that outlasted a 50-minute post-stimulation observation period. These results provide insight into the physiological foundations of age-related cognitive impairment, and contribute to groundwork for future non-pharmacological interventions targeting aspects of cognitive decline.