TMS Brain Stimulation Shows Boosts in Memory Replay and Accuracy

A study conducted by Northwestern Medicine showed that patients who recieved transcranial megnetic stimulation (TMS) improved their memory of complex, realistic events when applied to networks responsible for memory. Participants watched videos of realistic activities to measure how memory works on everyday tasks. They found that higher quality reinstatement memories when stimulated. 

Melissa Hebscher, postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that brain stimulation led to higher quality reinstatement of memories which occurs when the brain replays or relives an original event. The study consisted of healthy young adults in a controlled laboratory setting however the results can be extrapolated to improve memory for individuals with memory disorders thats caused by brain damage or neurological disorders. 

The researchers used TMS to alter brain activity and memory for realistic events and immediately scanned using fMRI while performing a memory task. They found that following stimulation, paticipants more accurately answered questions about the content of the video clips such as the color of the shirt the individual was wearing or whether or not a tree was present in the background. 

Having a reliable measurement of this network will help this group easily identify reinstatement in the brain and help improve the effectiveness of stimulation for enhacing memory. Continuous follow up is being done to gather more reliable measure of the brain network responsible for memory in healthy subjects as well as patients with memory disorders. 

Read more about the study by clicking the link here.