 |
|
Learning to shape your brain activity
October 01, 2008Unique study is the first to successfully use instrumental sensorimotor rhythm conditioning in a healthy human population to enhance sleep spindles, decrease sleep onset latency and increase memory performance
Westchester, Ill.- A study in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that the successful manipulation of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) amplitude by instrumental SMR conditioning (ISC) improved sleep quality as well as declarative learning. ISC might thus be considered a promising non-pharmacological treatment for primary insomnia.
This study allowed participants to "shape their own brain activity" by directly modifying certain electroencephalographic (EEG) activities. Findings support the theory that an increase in relaxation and a decrease in muscle tension might lead to less movement during sleep and thereby augment the restorative and learning enhancement benefits of sleep. Significant changes in SMR amplitude from early to late conditioning sessions confirmed the success of ISC. EEG changes transferred into sleep and improved immediate memory retrieval after learning. The study's 27 participants were able to fall asleep faster (decrease in "sleep onset latency") and increase memory performance after two weeks of ISC.
"The aim of the study was to improve sleep quality and memory performance by 'rewarding' the existence of certain activities of the brain," said the study's workgroup leader, Dr. Manuel Schabus, researcher for the division of physiological psychology at the University of Salzburg in Austria.
Instrumental conditioning of different EEG parameters has long been used as a therapeutic tool to treat different kinds of disorders, including epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prior research has found that ISC can be effective in treating psychophysiological insomnia, a form of insomnia associated with worrying.
Twenty-seven healthy subjects were randomly assigned to either an ISC group or a randomized frequency group in order to examine the effects of ISC on sleep as well as declarative memory performance. Participants attended the laboratory on 13 occasions, during 10 of which they were connected to a feedback system that allowed them to keep track of their current brain activity by looking at a computer screen. Participants were encouraged to use physiological relaxation combined with positive mental activity in order to "shape their brainwaves"; all participants remained blind to their group assignment and were not debriefed until after the investigation had ended.
Participants trained the enhancement of the SMR over the course of two weeks and were rewarded with a pleasant image whenever they succeeded to enhance this specific type of brain activity. Subjective data about sleep quality and depression and objective data about memory and intelligence were also collected. Participants were asked to perform a declarative word-pair association task before and after a 90-minute nap periods in the laboratory; naps were taken before and after treatment sessions.
The researchers suggest that future studies focus on the effects of ISC on various cognitive tasks and address the potential clinical significance of this kind of training for the long-term treatment of insomnia.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
"The aim of the study was to improve sleep quality and memory performance by 'rewarding' the existence of certain activities of the brain," said the study's workgroup leader, Dr. Manuel Schabus, researcher for the division of physiological psychology at the University of Salzburg in Austria.
Instrumental conditioning of different EEG parameters has long been used as a therapeutic tool to treat different kinds of disorders, including epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prior research has found that ISC can be effective in treating psychophysiological insomnia, a form of insomnia associated with worrying.
Twenty-seven healthy subjects were randomly assigned to either an ISC group or a randomized frequency group in order to examine the effects of ISC on sleep as well as declarative memory performance. Participants attended the laboratory on 13 occasions, during 10 of which they were connected to a feedback system that allowed them to keep track of their current brain activity by looking at a computer screen. Participants were encouraged to use physiological relaxation combined with positive mental activity in order to "shape their brainwaves"; all participants remained blind to their group assignment and were not debriefed until after the investigation had ended.
Participants trained the enhancement of the SMR over the course of two weeks and were rewarded with a pleasant image whenever they succeeded to enhance this specific type of brain activity. Subjective data about sleep quality and depression and objective data about memory and intelligence were also collected. Participants were asked to perform a declarative word-pair association task before and after a 90-minute nap periods in the laboratory; naps were taken before and after treatment sessions.
The researchers suggest that future studies focus on the effects of ISC on various cognitive tasks and address the potential clinical significance of this kind of training for the long-term treatment of insomnia.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Memory Performance Current Events and Memory Performance News RSSLow-carb diets can affect dieters' cognition skills
A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition skills returned to normal.
Memory function varies after damage to key area of the brain
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered dramatic differences in the memory performance of patients with damage to the hippocampus, an area of the human brain key to memory.
Hot flashes underreported and linked to forgetfulness
Women in midlife underreport the number of hot flashes that they experience by more than 40 percent, and these hot flashes are linked to poor verbal memory, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Different use of brain areas may explain memory problems in schizophrenics
The enduring memory problems that people with schizophrenia experience may be related to differences in how their brains process information, new research has found.
Study identifies new patterns of brain activation used in forming long-term memories
Researchers at New York University and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have identified patterns of brain activation linked to the formation of long-term memories.
Brain region that can be stimulated to reduce the cognitive deficits of sleep deprivation identified
A Columbia University Medical Center research team has uncovered how stimulation of a particular brain region can help stave off the deficits in working memory, associated with an extended sleep deprivation.
Hypnosis study reveals brain's 'amnesia centers'
Brain scans of hypnotized people that are taken as they forget and are triggered to remember have revealed neural circuitry that is key to the memory suppression and recall process.
Genes influence age-related hearing loss
A new Brandeis University study of twins shows that genes play a significant role in the level of hearing loss that often appears in late middle age.
Hormone therapy boosts sexual interest but not memory, study finds
Hormone therapy in early post-menopause increases sexual interest, but does not improve memory, according to a study in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Neurology.
Accident-prone? Scientists link brain function to knee injuries
A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is among an athlete's most-dreaded injuries, often requiring surgery and months of rehab, as has been the case with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
More Memory Performance Current Events and Memory Performance News Articles
 | Dancing with the Dead: Memory, Performance, and Everyday Life in Postwar Okinawa (Asia-Pacific) by Christopher Nelson Challenging conventional understandings of time and memory, Christopher T. Nelson examines how contemporary Okinawans have contested, appropriated, and transformed the burdens and possibilities of the past. Nelson explores the work of a circle of Okinawan storytellers, ethnographers, musicians, and dancers deeply engaged with the legacies of a brutal Japanese colonial era, the almost unimaginable... |
 | Text and Image: Art and the Performance of Memory (Memory and Narrative) Expanding upon longstanding concerns in cultural history about the relation of text and image, this book explores how ideas move across and between expressive forms. The contributions draw from art and architectural history, film, theater, performance studies, and social and cultural history to identify and dissect the role that the visual and performing arts can play in the experience and... |
 | High Performance Memories: New Architecture DRAMs and SRAMs - Evolution and Function by Betty Prince High Performance Memories New architecture DRAMs and SRAMs evolution and function Revised Edition Betty Prince Memory Strategies International, Leander, Texas, USA Now presenting extra product specific material on the new DDR SDRAMs, ESDRAMs and DDR ESDRAMs, Direct Rambus DRAMs, SLDRAM, VCDRAM, SGRAM and DDR SGRAM, and DP-DRAM. Fully updated to incorporate the latest industry achievements in this... |
 | High Performance Memory Testing: Design Principles, Fault Modeling and Self-Test (Frontiers in Electronic Testing) by R. Dean Adams Based on the author's 20 years of experience in memory design, memory reliability development and memory test. Written for the professional and the researcher to help them understand the memories that are being... |
 | Memory Performance of Prolog Architectures (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science) by Evan Tick |
 | Between Two Fires: Gypsy Performance and Romani Memory from Pushkin to Post-Socialism by Alaina Lemon Since tsarist times, Roma in Russia have been portrayed as both rebellious outlaws and free-spirited songbirds—in each case, as if isolated from society. In Soviet times, Russians continued to harbor these two, only seemingly opposed, views of “Gypsies,” exalting their songs on stage but scorning them on the streets as liars and cheats. Alaina Lemon’s Between Two Fires examines how Roma... |
 | Art and the Performance of Memory: Sounds and Gestures of Recollection (Memory Andnarrative, 9) Expanding upon longstanding concerns in cultural history about the relation of text and image, this book explores how ideas move across and between expressive forms. The contributions draw from art and architectural history, film, theatre, performance studies, and social and cultural history to identify and dissect the role that the visual and performing arts can play in the experience and... |
 | The predictive value of the leveling off of within session performance for procedural memory consolidation [An article from: Cognitive Brain Research] by B. Hauptmann, E. Reinhart, S.A. Brandt, A. Karni This digital document is a journal article from Cognitive Brain Research, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: In addition to performance gains accrued concurrently with a given training experience (within-session gains) robust, delayed... |
| New video networking chips use high-performance memory controller cores from Denali.: An article from: EDP Weekly's IT Monitor This digital document is an article from EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, published by Millin Publishing, Inc. on October 28, 2002. The length of the article is 460 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation... | |
 | Cache and Memory Hierarchy Design: A Performance Directed Approach (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) by Steven A. Przybylski An authoritative book for hardware and software designers. Caches are by far the simplest and most effective mechanism for improving computer performance. This innovative book exposes the characteristics of performance-optimal single and multi-level cache hierarchies by approaching the cache design process through the novel perspective of minimizing execution times. It presents useful data on the... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |