Entorhinal Cortex - Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease

The entorhinal cortex is one of the first areas to be affected in Alzheimer's Disease.

In 2012, neuroscientists at UCLA conducted an experiment using a virtual taxi video game connected to seven epilepsy patients with electrodes already implanted in their brains, allowing the researchers to monitor neuronal activity whenever memories were being formed. As the researchers stimulated the nerve fibers of each of the patients' entorhinal cortex as they were learning, they were then able to better navigate themselves through various routes and recognize landmarks more quickly. This signified an improvement in the patients' spatial memory.

With over 30 million people worldwide today suffering Alzheimer's Disease each year, the study at UCLA helped discover that ongoing stimulation of the entorhinal cortex wasn't a necessary means to boost one's memory. Instead, it was found more effective when only trying to learn important information. This discovery provides evidence for a possible mechanism that could enhance memory.