Our brain is the most complex software programmed by God which works in its own unique ways. Various studies on human brain are going on from centuries and every research introduces us with some unique feature which our brain contains. It carries its own code of conduct. A similar study has been carried out at the University of North Carolina Health Care (UNC); the study reveals that a healthy brain is capable of boosting its memory during sleep. Yes, you read it right!
It is known that when you sleep, your brain gets busy in sorting and consolidating all the days which you learned and carried out that particular day. It differentiates the data into the stuff that you might need next day, or next week or even next year. So, for the first time in history, UNC School of Medicine scientists report using transcranial alternating current stimulation, or tACS, to target a specific kind of brain activity during sleep and strengthen memory in the healthy people.
From past many years, the researchers have recorded the electrical brain activity during sleep, which presents waves on an Electroencephalogram (EEG). These waves are known as ‘Sleep Spindles’, and scientists have suspected their involvement in cataloging and storing memories during the time we sleep. “But we didn’t know if sleep spindles enable or even cause memories to be stored and consolidated,” said by Senior author Flavio Frohlich, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry and member of UNC Neuroscience Center. “They could’ve been merely byproducts of other brain processes that enabled what we learn to be stored as a memory. But our study shows that, indeed, the spindles are crucial for the process of creating memories we need for every-day life. And also, we can target them to enhance memory.”
This is the first time that any research group has studies Sleep Spindles selectively, even without increasing the brain activity during sleep. 16 males participated in the study and their sleep was monitored for two complete nights. “The study demonstrated a direct causal link between the electric activity pattern of sleep spindles and the process of motor memory consolidation,” Frohlich said. He added, “The next step is to try the same intervention, the same type of non-invasive brain stimulation, in patients that have known deficits in these spindle activity patterns.”
The research gave us proofs that particular brain waves could be targeted, which are prominent in creating ideas, day-dreaming or meditate. These waves are impaired in people along with neurological and psychiatric illnesses, including depression.
