JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed an innovative method to bolster memory in the brain during sleep, which could help treat brain injuries, the Tel Aviv University (TAU) reported on Thursday.
The new method could help restore memory capabilities following brain injuries or help treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) victims.
The method was developed in a study conducted by TAU and the Weizmann Institute of Science, both located in central Israel, and published in the journal Current Biology.
It relies on a memory-evoking scent administered to one nostril, addressed to only one half of the brain.
The team focused on the memory consolidation process that takes place in the brain during sleep. With "one-sided" odor delivery to experimental subjects' single nostril, the researchers reactivated and boosted specific memories stored in a specific brain side.
It was found that the subjects' memory was significantly better for the words presented to them on the side affected by the smell than another side.
This finding emphasizes that the memory consolidation process can be amplified by external cues such as scents, so memories can be manipulated on one side of the brain.
The new method may help post-traumatic patients who show higher activity in the right side of the brain when recalling a trauma, possibly related to its emotional content.
This technique could potentially influence this aspect of memory during sleep and reduce the emotional stress that accompanies the traumatic memory.
Additionally, this method could be further developed to assist in rehabilitation therapy for a patient with one-sided brain damage due to a stroke.
