http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/complex-brain-function-depends-on-flexibility-0519.html Many neurons, especially in brain regions that perform sophisticated functions such as thinking and planning, react differently to a wide variety of stimulation. “We started noticing early on that there are a whole bunch of neurons in the prefrontal cortex that can’t be classified in the traditional way of one message per neuron,” said […]
Browsing Category: Brain
Brain / Seniors / Stroke
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for brain injuries
http://www.assafh.org/sites/en/Pages/brain-injuries.aspx Tel Aviv University and Assaf Harofeh Medical Center researchers are treating stroke patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), high-pressure chambers where oxygen-rich air increases oxygen levels in the body by a factor of ten. Their goal is to reinvigorate dormant neurons and improve patients’ motor function, memory and other abilities that current therapies do […]
Brain / Sensors
Wireless detection of brain trauma
http://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/2013/05/14/wireless-signals-could-transform-brain-trauma-diagnostics/ New technology developed at UC Berkeley uses wireless signals to provide real-time, noninvasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device analyzes data from low-energy electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals. It is sensitive enough to distinguish between a normal brain and a diseased brain with one single noncontact […]
BCI / Brain / EEG / Machine Learning / Monitoring
Skin mounted electrode arrays measure neural signals
http://coleman.ucsd.edu/lab-research/ Professor Todd Coleman of UCSD is developing foldable, stretchable electrode arrays that can non-invasively measure neural signals. They can also provide more in-depth analysis by including thermal sensors to monitor skin temperature and light detectors to analyze blood oxygen levels. The device is powered by micro solar panels and uses antennae to wirelessly transmit or […]
Brain / fMRI
Real-time brain feedback for anxiety disorders
http://news.yale.edu/2013/05/07/research-news-real-time-brain-feedback-can-help-people-overcome-anxiety fMRI-driven neurofeedback has been used in various contexts, but never applied to the treatment of anxiety. Yale University researchers used fMRI to display the activity of the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain region just above the eyes, to subjects in real time. Through a process of trial and error, the subjects learned to control their brain […]
Brain / Computer Vision / mHealth / Monitoring / Sensors
Computer vision algorithms used to diagnose depression
http://medvr.ict.usc.edu/projects/dcaps/ SimSensei software, developed by Stefan Scherer and colleagues at the University of Southern California, combines computer vision algorithms and the psychological model of depression. An on-screen psychologist asks you a series of questions and watches how you physically respond. Using Kinect, the computer vision algorithms build up a very detailed model of your face […]
Brain / Machine Learning
Brain scans link math learning abilities to brain structure
http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2013/04/29/peering-into-the-brain-to-predict-kids-response-to-math-tutoring/ Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine used brain scans to look for a link between math-learning abilities and brain structure or function, and compared neural and cognitive predictors of childrens’ responses to tutoring. The analysis of the children’s structural brain scans showed that larger gray matter volume in three brain structures predicted greater […]
Brain
Babies’ consciousness, development studied
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/04/when-does-your-baby-become-consc.html Finding the point at which babies’ reactions change from being purely reflexive to reflecting more intention is leading researches to focus on the first glimmers of conscious thought in infants as young as 5 months old. Ideally, the infant studies would enable scientists to trace a trajectory of how consciousness generates. “You can start […]
AI / Brain
Kurzweil envisions emotionally intelligent Google search
http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/kurzweil-google-ai/ Kurzweil predicts that computers will be able to have a deep understanding of human emotion by 2029. He wants to see search evolve to understand even more complex language that will involve “emotional intelligence, being funny, getting the joke, being sexy, being loving, understanding human emotion.”
Brain
Pass-thoughts as the new passwords
http://phys.org/news/2013-04-password-future-passthoughts.html Pass-thoughts are thoughts that a headset records through brainwaves. The computer learns what your individual brainwaves are like and then identifies you. Traditionally, these brainwaves, called electroencephalograms (EEGs), are collected through expensive and sometimes invasive devices, so the pass-thought growth has been severely stunted. Berkeley’s John Chuang and his team conducted a series of […]