A new study from the University of Groningen has found that a drug already approved for use in humans can help to compensate for memory loss caused by sleep deprivation and even bring back forgotten memories. The discovery could potentially help people with age-related memory problems or Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep deprivation weakens memory and can lead to the loss of memories. The study found that lost memories due to sleep deprivation can be retrieved in mice. While it is not yet known if the method will work in humans, the study shows that memories lost due to sleep deprivation can be retrieved.
The researchers allowed laboratory mice to explore an environment with different objects and then changed the position of one of the objects in the absence of the mice. After a few days, the mice returned, and the natural behavior of the mice led them to focus on the changed object. Mice that were allowed to sleep between the first and second exploration phases had hardly any memory gaps, while mice that were not allowed to sleep had significant memory gaps. The experiment shows that sleep deprivation can affect memory. The researchers used optogenetics to stimulate the cells of the hippocampus, the area of the brain where spatial memories are stored. The researchers found that the already approved drug Roflumilast can reactivate memories.
The study shows that memories lost due to sleep deprivation can be retrieved, and a drug already approved for use in humans can help to compensate for memory loss caused by sleep deprivation. This discovery could potentially help people with age-related memory problems or Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that a combination of optogenetic stimulation and the drug Roflumilast can lead to a temporary refreshment of memories and even make them permanent. The study shows that the brain stores information, but it cannot always access it. The discovery of a drug that can reactivate memories opens up new possibilities for medicine.
