Can Memory Be Restored After A Brain Injury

Randy Rozek • July 14, 2014

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Program in Memory Restoration $15 million toward a four-year project aiming to help restore the loss of memory function in those suffering from brain-injury (Nichols, 2014).

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traumatic brain injury makes up 30% of all deaths related to injury. Brain injury can have such effects as impaired thinking and speech, movement, emotional functioning, as well as memory. In 2010, approximately 2.5 million emergency room visits were due to traumatic brain injury, including mild, moderate and severe.

Dr. Itzhak Fried is the lead investigator for the UCLA project and says that, “Losing our ability to remember past events and form new memories is one of the most dreaded afflictions of the human condition.” In 2012, Fried’s research showed that by stimulating the entorhinal area of the brain, human memory could be supported.

Lawrence Livermore National Labratory (LLNL) will also be given $2.5 million in addition by DARPA as a part of the project to develop a neural implant that will stimulate the entorhinal area of the brain to help restore memory. This device may also help to expand the understanding of how memories are formed and stored in the brain.

This program is part of the DARPA program, Restoring Active Memory (RAM), which supports the president’s “Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies” (BRAIN).