Pim R.A. Heckman, Ph.D. and assistant professor at Maastricht University, as part of a team investigating sleep deprivation and its effects on memory, has recently published a new article suggesting that memories apparently lost because of sleep deprivation are still maintained and can potentially be accessed.
Through a combination of optogenetic techniques and the administration of a drug approved to alleviate asthma (Rofumilast), the team was able to reactivate the memory regarding the location of an object in mice.
This finding opens the way to more research that could have precious to treat or alleviate memory loss in specific conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.