In a new study, researchers found that the way two parts of the brain interact during sleep may explain symptoms experienced by Alzheimer’s patients, a finding that opens up new doors in dementia research.
It is believed that these interactions during sleep allow memories to form and thus failure of this normal system in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease may explain why memory is impaired.
The findings may help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding Alzheimer’s disease, an incurable and progressive illness affecting millions of families around the globe.
The research was conducted by a team at Florida State University and elsewhere.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 47 million people worldwide are living with the disease, a number projected to soar to 76 million over the next decade.
It is currently the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting one out of every 10 people ages 65 and older.
The study was based on measuring brain waves in mouse models of the disease.
It focused on how the way that two parts of the brain — the parietal cortex and the hippocampus — interact during sleep may contribute to symptoms experienced by Alzheimer’s patients, such as impaired memory and cognition, and getting lost in new surroundings.
The hippocampal formation is crucial for the storage of “episodic” memories — a type of long-term memory of past experience — and is thought to be important for assisting other parts of the brain in extracting generalized knowledge from these personal experiences.
The team says the research is important because it looks at possible mechanisms underlying the decline of memory in Alzheimer’s disease and understanding how it causes memory decline could help identify treatments.
One author of the study is FSU Assistant Professor of Psychology Aaron Wilber.
The study is published in Current Biology.
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