According to a New Study

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have been working on techniques to mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation, according to a recent study that may bode well for future college students used to burning the midnight oil on a regular basis.

Scientists have discovered that stimulating certain parts of the brain can alleviate the lapses in working memory—which is used to retain information for short periods of time—that are caused by extensive lack of sleep and lead to decreases in cognitive performance.

The study, whose lead author is Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons clinical psychiatry instructor Bruce Luber, detailed the effects of noninvasively exciting brain neurons using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a process that employs magnetic fields to induce an electrical current in the brain. The procedure could potentially be a treatment for ailments ranging from migraines to depression. Researchers tested sleep-deprived patients on an alphabet-based memory task while applying rTMS to see what changes occurred in performance, and noted that the subjects were generally able to work faster with the treatment.

The news could have important repercussions for people in a variety of occupations and situations.

“These findings may also have implications for new ways to treat sleep deprivation, a pervasive problem for soldiers, truck drivers and night-shift workers, which can result in impairment on the job and accidents,” said Dr. Yaakov Stern, a professor of clinical neuropsychology in neurology and psychiatry at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, in a press release.

The researchers have previously been involved in research dealing with improving adolescent memory.

sandeep.soman@columbiaspectator.com