Mind-Blowing Discovery: Zapping Brain to Boost Memory

New research funded by the U.S. military found a way to sharpen one's memory while sleeping: through zapping it with a tiny burst of electricity.

Through years of study, researchers from the University of New Mexico found out that stimulating the brain with a 9-volt battery's worth of electricity during a particular stage of sleep can make you recall things of the day before better.

How Does It Boost Memories?

Through electrodes attached to the scalp of the volunteers, the scientists will be able to track the brain waves while sleeping.

The brain consolidates memories of the days the moment you sleep and throughout its four stages. The moment your body enters the deep sleep, the third stage, which is also called "slow-wave sleep," it begins picking memories to store by long term.

The electrodes will record and analyze those slow waves and send them back on the next deep sleep mode. The method is called "transcranial alternating-current stimulation" or TACS.

The experiment involves making a volunteer play a visual reality game that consists in shooting photos of a human target. 

Compared to when there is no stimulation, the volunteer got better on hitting and figuring out the pattern of the threat.

According to Aaron Jones, one of the researchers, this experiment proves that transcranial stimulation while sleeping can improve other kinds of memory, and not just the "veridical" or "declarative" type. 

Vincent P. Clark, Ph.D., the director of UNM Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, who also led the research, explained that the brain was designed to store memories only if we are sure it is true. The TACS technique works by boosting the process through "reducing the threshold you need" to encode the memory.

Technologies that allow us to recall things better already exist, and scientists just need to find ways to make it more efficient, both in performance and in cost, Dr. Clark also said.

The Future of Boosting Memories . . . or Manipulating It

Dr. Clark said that right now, what technology can do is "enhancing the natural process." However, manipulating memories through artificial means is already being studied, and "it is possible that it could be misused."

Although it could sound disturbing and unethical for some, Dr. Clark said that public awareness through commercials can change the perception of the people to accept it. 

"Commercials are designed to change our perspective about products. And they're very good at that. A good commercial can change our culture. We have been dealing with that for a long time."

Dr. Clark is optimistic about the scientific innovation that also includes things like better learning capabilities, enhancing attention span, improving physical performance, and reducing pains.

The discovery was featured on the sixth episode of Future You, produced by NPR.