Scientists reactivate Alzheimer's patients' memories

06-02-2014

Scientists in America are hopeful of a breakthrough in curing Alzheimer's, following a study that shows a way of bringing back the lost memories of dementia patients. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have erased and successfully reactivated memories in rats, offering hope that the same can be achieved with humans.The study, published next month, is the first to show the ability to selectively remove a memory and then reactivate it.This is done by stimulating nerves in the brain at frequencies that are known to weaken and strengthen the connections between nerve cells, called synapses.Roberto Malinow, a professor of neurosciences and senior author of the study, said: "We can form a memory, erase that memory and we can reactivate it, at will, by applying a stimulus that selectively strengthens or weakens synaptic connections.