A groundbreaking memory rehabilitation app developed at the University of Toronto is taking its next steps with support from the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence.
Led by Psychology Professor Morgan Barense, HippoCamera is a patented digital memory aid that uses a smartphone and principles from neuroscience to mimic how the brain’s hippocampus—a brain area central in creating and recalling memories—actually works. It aims to help those living with memory impairments retain and recall important moments of their lives.
"Our memories make us who we are, and I am grateful to have support from the Ontario Research Fund to take HippoCamera out of the lab and get it into the hands of people who want to better remember the events of their lives,” says Barense.
The funding will power significant updates to the current research version of HippoCamera, co-designed with its intended users to make it even easier to work. It will also support the use of HippoCamera among those with severe memory impairments, like people living with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease in residential facilities.
HippoCamera is proven to help users retain the kind of memory that is lost to aging and Alzheimer’s disease: autobiographical episodic memory. This is the type of memory that allows us to remember everyday life events. It is also associated with how we understand ourselves and maintain relationships.
The app allows users to record and label videos of important moments from their lives to replay later with rich memory cues. Previous research found that HippoCamera significantly improved memory recall in healthy older adults, with gains lasting up to three months plus emotional benefits and sharpened brain activity in the hippocampus.
The technology has the potential to make a significant difference in the lives of the over 250,000 Ontarians and 55 million individuals worldwide that are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.
Barense is the Director of the Toronto Neuroimaging Facility, and the Endowed Max and Gianna Glassman Chair of Neuropsychology at Baycrest. She also leads the Memory and Perception Laboratory, which aims to understand how the brain supports memory.
More information
To learn more about HippoCamera or to speak to its team, please contact:
- Michael Pereira
Communications Officer, Department of Psychology
psy.communications.officer@utoronto.ca