Network-targeted stimulation engages neurobehavioral hallmarks of age-related memory decline

Which means in plain English, perhaps some forms of TMS might reverse age-related (and pathological?) memory decline. Worth studying, for sure.

Network-targeted stimulation engages neurobehavioral hallmarks of age-related memory decline

Aneesha S. Nilakantan, M.-Marsel Mesulam, Sandra Weintraub, Erica L. Karp, Stephen VanHaerents, Joel L. Voss

Abstract

Objective To test whether targeting hippocampal-cortical brain networks with high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation in older adults influences behavioral and neural measures characteristic of age-related memory impairment.

Methods Fifteen adults aged 64 to 80 years (mean = 72 years) completed a single-blind, sham-controlled experiment. Stimulation targets in parietal cortex were determined based on fMRI connectivity with the hippocampus. Recollection and recognition memory were assessed after 5 consecutive daily sessions of full-intensity stimulation vs low-intensity sham stimulation using a within-subjects crossover design. Neural correlates of recollection and recognition memory formation were obtained via fMRI, measured within the targeted hippocampal-cortical network vs a control frontal-parietal network. These outcomes were measured approximately 24 hours after the final stimulation session.

Results Recollection was specifically impaired in older adults compared to a young-adult control sample at baseline. Relative to sham, stimulation improved recollection to a greater extent than recognition. Stimulation increased recollection fMRI signals throughout the hippocampal-cortical network, including at the targeted location of the hippocampus. Effects of stimulation on fMRI recollection signals were greater than those for recognition and were greater in the targeted network compared to the control network.

Conclusions Age-related recollection impairments were causally related to hippocampal-cortical network function in older adults. Stimulation selectively modified neural and behavioral hallmarks of age-related memory impairment, indicating effective engagement of memory intervention targets in older adults.

  • Received September 12, 2018.
  • Accepted in final form January 17, 2019.

Source: https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2019/04/17/WNL.0000000000007502

Maurice Preter, MD

About Maurice Preter MD

Maurice Preter, MD is a European and U.S. educated psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, neurologist, and medical-legal expert in private practice in Manhattan. He is also the principal of Fifth Avenue Concierge Medicine, PLLC, a medical concierge service and health advisory for select individuals and families.
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