Our memory is an amazing thing, as it allows us to acquire, store, retain, and retrieve information we obtain or events we experience. Forgetting something may be frustrating at times, but it’s completely normal. If you forget to lock a door, where you put something, or the name of someone you only met a few times, you’re not alone.
Some memory problems are the result of other issues that may require treatment, and there is research to suggest that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy can help. To better understand how this treatment may help your memory issues, let’s explore what can cause these problems, how TMS therapy affects your brain, and what you can expect with treatment.
Residents of the Washington DC, Metropolitan Area dealing with memory problems can find help with the skilled team at Vital TMS Therapy.
Causes of memory problems
Normally, when we forget something, it’s the result of one of four basic types of memory loss:
- Failure to store: when information never enters into our long term memory
- Interference: when either proactive or retroactive memories compete with other memories
- Motivated forgetting: when we forget things that make us anxious, upset, or otherwise cause pain
- Retrieval failure: when you’re certain you know something, but it isn’t coming to you
Other factors can contribute to memory loss, such as lack of sleep, alcohol abuse, depression, some medications, and stress. Medical conditions that can contribute to memory loss include dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and age-related memory issues.
How TMS therapy affects the brain
This method of therapy uses magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells. It activates areas of the brain that have lower activity and focuses therapy on specific areas, such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and the motor cortex. The method is used to improve a variety of conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
How it can treat memory issues
TMS therapy changes the activity of nerve cells to improve certain brain functions, and research shows that this method can help modulate neural excitability in targeted cortical areas of the brain. People dealing with mental health issues or other forms of impaired cognitive function use short-term memory in a different way than those with healthy brains.
Studies like this one show that patients who had targeted treatment in specific areas, like the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, show improvement in memory. The prefrontal cortex is one of many places TMS therapy treatments are used to treat conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and these results also show the benefits of improving memory.
So if you’re dealing with mental health issues, many of which can affect your memory, TMS therapy is a method that can help you improve your quality of life. If you’re ready to see what this therapy can do for you, make an appointment with the team at Vital TMS Therapy today.
