Brain Rhythms Boosted by Virtual Reality

Virtual reality boosts stronger brain rhythms that are crucial for neuroplasticity, learning, and memory.

Brain responds differently in immersive virtual reality (VR) environments versus the real world where virtual reality boosts stronger brain rhythms crucial for neuroplasticity, learning and memory as per a study in rats, at the University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences.

This may help in the understanding of how the brain brings together sensory information from different sources to create a cohesive picture of the world around us and help design better therapeutics.

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‘Virtual reality boosts stronger brain rhythms that are crucial for neuroplasticity, learning, and memory as per a study in rats. This could pave the way for "virtual reality therapy" for learning and memory-related disorders including Alzheimer's disease.’

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to gradual memory loss and behavioral changes. It is characterized by the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain tissues, years before the actual symptoms occur.

Hippocampus is a seahorse-shaped organ of the brain that is a primary driver of learning and memory, including spatial navigation. It is stated by experiments in rats that the electrical activity in the hippocampus is synchronized at a rate of 8 pulses per second, or 8 Hz that is, "theta rhythm," when performing spatial navigation tasks.

Thus a stronger theta rhythm improves the brain's ability to learn and retain sensory information. Any disruptions to this rhythm show impairment in the rat's learning and memory, including the ability to learn and remember a route through a maze.

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Many patients with Alzheimer's disease lose their perception of space due to the damage to neurons in the hippocampus. Hence the study team invented an immersive virtual reality environment for the rats to rule out if treating theta rhythms improved memory and learning.

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This VR for rats was far more immersive than commercially available VR for humans. Tiny electrodes, thinner than human hair, were placed into the brain among the neurons of rats to measure their brain rhythms.

"Our VR is so compelling that the rats love to jump in and happily play games. It turns out that amazing things happen when the rat is in virtual reality. He goes to the virtual fountain and drinks water, takes a nap there, looks around and explores the space as if it is real. We were blown away when we saw this huge effect of VR experience on theta rhythm enhancement," says Dr.Mayank Mehta, Ph.D., the head of W. M. Keck Center for Neurophysics and a professor in the departments of physics, neurology, and electrical and computer engineering at UCLA.

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The team also found a different electrical rhythm in cell body of the neuron (compared to other part – dendrite) which they dubbed as never-before-seen rhythm "eta." The rhythm strengthened in VR but was not limited to the virtual reality environment alone. It also appeared when the rats were walking around a real environment – a discovery that has not been established in any other pharmacological studies in the past sixty years.

"This is a new technology that has tremendous potential. We have entered a new territory," says Dr. Mehta.

The study could thereby pave the way for "virtual reality therapy" for learning and memory-related disorders ranging including ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and depression.

Source-Medindia