Combining VR and non-invasive brain stimulation to boost spatial memory without surgery

Medical Xpress October 30, 2024
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

As we age, it becomes more difficult to remember where things are—whether it’s recalling where we left the keys or where we parked the car. This spatial memory deteriorates further with the onset of dementia, a condition that someone in the world develops every three seconds, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International.

Researchers at two EPFL labs have joined forces to give a boost to spatial memory by creating a unique experimental setup that combines non-invasive deep-brain stimulation, virtual reality training, and fMRI imaging—all housed within Campus Biotech in Geneva. Published in Science Advances, the study demonstrates that targeted, painless electric impulses to the hippocampus and adjacent structures, a deep brain region implied in memory and spatial navigation, can improve the...

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