The multiple sclerosis is a disease affecting the central nervous system that alters the transmission of nerve impulses between neurons. Numbness, vision and movement disorders are some symptoms. Eventually, the disease can leave sequelae, and affect the memory function.
To combat the loss of learning ability, and therefore of memory, researchers from the Kessler Foundation Research Center (USA) studied the effectiveness of the memory training protocol mSMT (Modified Story Memory Technique).
This protocol is based on the use of context and images to facilitate thelearning and memorization. It is organized in sessions of 30 to 90 minutes, with two sessions per week for a month.
To prove its effectiveness, the scientists called on eight participants with multiple sclerosis, whose memory capacities they assessed at the start of the study, immediately after the mSMT protocol and six months after the protocol.
The evaluation then reveals that the increase in brain activation patterns (i.e. learning) obtained immediately after the initiation protocol is well maintained after six months without mSMT practice.
The study thus provides the first evidence of the effectiveness of the training protocol for memory mSMT.
If the protocol is already translated into Spanish and Chinese, and used in the United States, Mexico and Argentina, it would therefore benefit from being developed in other countries, to support patients with cognitive impairment suffering in particular from multiple sclerosis. .
Source:
A pilot study examining functional brain activity 6 months after memory retraining in MS: the MEMREHAB trialpublished in the scientific journal Brain Imaging and Behavior on June 14, 2014.
