The "Brain Zapping" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife and I frequently have difficulty recalling names and recent events.  Often, the conversation goes .....  "What was the name of that guy we met at the mall? ... "What was the name of that restaurant we ate at yesterday? ....  "What were we watching on Channel 8 last night?  Yet, we can easily remember the name of our elementary school teachers or our Grandmother's phone number when we were eight years old.  I still remember where to send four Cheerios box tops and 25 cents to receive  the whistling ring that saved the life of 1950s radio cowboy star Tom Mix when he whistled for his horse, Tony: Tom Mix, Box 808, St. Louis, Missouri.  Forgetting the name of someone you just met, misplacing keys, or having trouble remembering directions once in a while - these memory slips can happen at any age.  As we get older, though, we may wonder whether these slips signal a more serious problem, such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  Forgetfulness is often associated with a decline in cognition, which can have a serious impact on a person's ability to conduct activities of daily living, such as interacting with friends and colleagues, managing medications, making financial decisions, scheduling activities, and navigating the complexities of daily life.  As the global population continues to age, the prevalence of cognitive decline and dementia is expected to rise, which presents significant challenges for healthcare systems, economies, and societies worldwide, and exerts considerable personal, social, and economic costs on individuals and families.  Developing and providing innovative, safe, and effective therapies and treatments for our aging population is a pressing need.  Neuroscience has made substantial progress indetifying the brain circuits and networks that underpin learning and memory.  New research shows that rhythmic activity in the brain may be key to storing memories.  Reinforcing those activities artificially may protect or even enhance memory for older adults in an inexpensive and sustainable way.  In one recent study, 150 people (ages 65-88) received noninvasive electrical brain stimulation for 20 minutes over four consecutive days, while researchers read to them a list of words.  They then tested participants' immediate recall of the words, as well as their memory of them one month later.  The stimulation produced boosts in recalling the words two to four days later, as well as one month later.  The scientists found that applying extremely weak high-frequency electrical current safely and non-invasively to the front part of the brain  selectively improved long term memory, without changing short-term memory, while applying the same kind of specialized alternating current farther back in the brain at a low frequency selectively improved short-term memory without changing long-term memory.  Thus, transcranial (across the skull) stimulation, depending on its location and frequency, could improve either short-or long-term memory because of the brain's ability to re-form and develop new neural connections throughout an individual's life.  Before we all run to the hardware store for wires and generators to stimulate our brains, more extensive controlled trials are needed to replicate these results in larger and diverse populations and evaluate the long-term effects and safety.  More research will also help determine the optimal parameters for stimulation to endure the longest lasting and most substantial benefits.   However, these preliminary results offer hope to memory-impaired  older populations worldwide.  Oh yeah, I remember now - we were watching Gregory Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird" after we ate a delicious dinner at My Neighbor's Grill last night.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS.......I am 80 years old and my wife is....well.... much younger than I am and we both can remember what I just wrote about in this story...even after reading it two days ago.  Could you do that?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.