Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation effects on brain function and cognition among elders with memory...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Subjective memory complaints are common in elders.
• Memory performance in elders can be within the low normal range.
• Investigating interventions for cognitive decline in aging is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on memory performance in elders.
• To examine brain activity changes associated with rTMS in this population.
• To assess rTMS efficacy for subjective memory complaints and low-normal memory performance.

Main Methods:

• Forty elders with memory complaints participated.
• Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions were conducted with face-name memory tasks.
• High-frequency rTMS (real or sham) was applied in a double-blind, randomized design between fMRI sessions.

Main Results:

• Only participants receiving active rTMS showed significant improvement in associative memory.
• Active rTMS was associated with additional recruitment of right prefrontal and bilateral posterior cortical regions during memory encoding.
• These brain activity changes were observed in the second fMRI session compared to baseline.

Conclusions:

• Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can positively influence cognitive function in elders with memory complaints.
• rTMS demonstrates potential in recruiting compensatory neural networks for memory encoding.
• This study provides initial evidence for the transient efficacy of rTMS in enhancing brain function and cognition in older adults.