Gerontology

Boosting memory neurons

“To memorize Mr. Baker’s name, imagine his beard covered in flour,” states Sylvie Belleville, a researcher at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.

According to this neuropsychologist, mental imagery could well turn out to be a lifesaver for seniors who run the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. For 10 years, Ms Belleville has been developing memorization strategies designed to give the elderly who are experiencing memory loss a few months or even years of respite. Her results are promising.

Many seniors complain of memory loss. Of course, not all of them have Alzheimer’s disease. But one in four will develop the disease by the age of 85. Increasingly, scientists are learning how to delay onset of the disease. Certain individuals fall into a grey zone, characterized by mild cognitive impairment or MCI. “They pay a bill several times or systematically forget to buy something on their shopping list,” says Ms Belleville. These individuals score slightly below standard in cognitive tests. They represent about 12% of the elderly population and have a 70%-80% risk of developing some form of dementia.

Ms Belleville wants to improve the memory of individuals who are at risk but continue to be largely autonomous. Her goal is to improve their quality of life and significantly slow down the onset of the disease. Patients participate in memory training sessions that focus on self-confidence, stress management, mental imagery, concentration and various methods for more effectively memorizing information. “We also call on individuals’ intellectual knowledge so that they can encode new information as richly as possible,” explains Ms Belleville.

Some 30 individuals diagnosed with MCI have already participated in these four-to-five person sessions. “After eight sessions, participants are scoring better on their memory tests and their well-being has improved—they’re less depressed,” states Ms Belleville. The results are also visible in the brain. “When we memorize something, our neurons produce specific electrical waves,” explains Ms Belleville. “A cap covered in electrodes is placed on the patient’s scalp so that we can visualize these waves and evaluate the individual’s capacity for memorization.”

Looking at a screen, patients are asked to memorize various stimuli. When a word is well embedded in a healthy individual’s memory, the neurons emit a specific wave called a ‘positive late wave’. This wave is smaller –sometimes non-existent– in individuals with mild cognitive impairment. “But we saw it reappear in MCI individuals who participated in our program,” states Ms Belleville. The next step is to confirm these promising results with a larger number of participants and to verify the long-term results of these sessions. More specifically, Ms Belleville is interested in assessing the impact of these exercises on the development of Alzheimer’s. Indeed, she has already joined forces with a group of clinicians and researchers to do just that.