![]() Substantial progress in neuroscience has identified the brain circuits and networks that underpin memory capacities, and studies have suggested that the rhythmic activity of cognitive circuitry may be important for the coordination of information processing 6. Moreover, there exists considerable variability in memory decline across individuals during aging 4, with accelerated decline potentially predicting subsequent Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias 5. Emerging reports suggest an increased likelihood of such impairments due to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic 3. ![]() A critical factor contributing to aging-induced costs is the impairment in basic memory systems essential for activities of daily living, such as making financial decisions or comprehending language 2. The shift in age demographics is associated with considerable personal, social, healthcare and economic costs 1. The world is facing many challenges due to a rapidly aging global population. Our findings demonstrate that the plasticity of the aging brain can be selectively and sustainably exploited using repetitive and highly focalized neuromodulation grounded in spatiospectral parameters of memory-specific cortical circuitry. Individuals with lower baseline cognitive function experienced larger, more enduring memory improvements. The rate of memory improvements over 4 days predicted the size of memory benefits 1 month later. Modulation of synchronous low-frequency, but not high-frequency, activity in parietal cortex preferentially improved working memory on day 3 and day 4 and 1 month after intervention, whereas modulation of synchronous high-frequency, but not low-frequency, activity in prefrontal cortex preferentially improved long-term memory on days 2–4 and 1 month after intervention. Here we describe repetitive (4-day) transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) protocols for the selective, sustainable enhancement of auditory–verbal working memory and long-term memory in 65–88-year-old people. The development of technologies to protect or enhance memory in older people is an enduring goal of translational medicine.
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