Boosting Brain Waves Improves Memory

Abstract

Have you ever wanted to improve your memory? Or have you struggled to remember what you studied? Memory uses special patterns of activity in the brain. This experiment tested a new way to create brain wave patterns that help with memory. We wanted to see if we could improve memory by using lights and sounds that teach the brain waves to be in sync. People wore special goggles that made flashes of light and headphones that made beeping noises. This trained the brain through a process called entrainment. The entrainment put the brain in sync at a specific brain wave pattern called theta. People whose brains were trained to be in theta had better memory compared to people whose brains did not get trained. We learned that entrainment is a cool new way to make memory better.