Washington, Sept 21 (ANI): Electrical stimulation a specific region of the brain leads to the production of new brain cells that enhance memory, a new animal study has shown.
Canadian researchers say that findings show how deep brain stimulation (DBS) - a clinical intervention that delivers electrical pulses to targeted areas of the brain - may work to improve cognition.
"DBS has been quite effective for the treatment of movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, and has recently been explored for treatment of a range of neurologic and psychiatric conditions," said Paul Frankland, PhD, of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), senior author of the study.
"These new findings have important clinical implications as they inform potential treatments for humans with memory disorders."
Throughout life, new cells are born in the hippocampus, the brain's learning and memory center, throughout life, and in the study, Frankland and colleagues found that one hour of electrical stimulation of the brains of mice caused two-fold increase in new cells in the hippocampus.
Compared with mice that did not receive the therapy, DBS mice spent more time swimming near the landing, suggesting that stimulation of the entorhinal cortex improved spatial learning, researchers said.
The study was recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)
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