A group of researchers from the University of Southern California has managed to create a brain implant that promises to increase the memory performance capabilities of those who use it.
"Memory prosthesis" is the name of this invention that is intended to imitate the way in which memories are processed naturally, by means of small electric shocks in the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in learning and memory, thus achieving an increase in their performance up to over 30%, according to their tests performed.
To achieve these results the scientists organized a group of 20 volunteers who were equipped with electrodes to participate in a memory game with 75 seconds between each image shown to remember.
From these sessions the researchers studied the behavior of the neurons in the brain of the subjects to define which regions were activated when using memory during game sessions.
Then there was a second session where the implant stimulated those specific areas of the brain with small electric shocks that mimicked the normal patterns of brain activity.
The figures obtained during the experiments lead to the conclusion that this type of implants would be of great help in patients with deficiencies in their memory.
Source: Alejandro Bracamonte
Fuente: elsumario.com
