Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: neuroscience

Your brain is a simulation machine

I recently read “A Brief History of Intelligence” by Max Bennett — and I highly recommend you check it out — it’s an absolutely brilliant book! I will be having a few conversations with Max but for now here is a taster from our first chat about how our brain works like a simulation machine. You can buy his book from Amazon — https://amzn.to/3weN3uS Watch behind the scenes, get early access and join the private Discord by supporting us on Patreon. We have some amazing content going up there with Kenneth Stanley this week! Listen to this entire conversation now (Simulations chapter) on Patreon: / max-bennett-of-1–97975425 Watch part 2 (Mentalizing chapter) on Patreon — / max-bennett-of-2–98181787 Watch part 3 (Language) here / max-bennett-3–0-100006225 / mlst (public discord) / discord / mlstreettalk.

Nasal nanomedicine delivers immune-boosting therapy to fight brain tumors

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, along with collaborators at Northwestern University, have developed a noninvasive approach to treat one of the most aggressive and deadly brain cancers. Their technology uses precisely engineered structures assembled from nano-size materials to deliver potent tumor-fighting medicine to the brain through nasal drops. The novel delivery method is less invasive than similar treatments in development and was shown in mice to effectively treat glioblastoma by boosting the brain’s immune response.

Long-Term Personalized Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson Disease: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial

Long-term adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) provided tolerable, effective, and safe therapy in persons with Parkinson disease whose symptoms were previously stable while receiving continuous DBS.

Question Is long-term adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) tolerable and as effective and safe as continuous DBS (cDBS)?

Findings In this nonrandomized clinical trial with an open-label comparison between cDBS and aDBS, the primary outcome was met as the majority of participants receiving aDBS achieved a performance goal of good on-time (ie, time when symptoms were well controlled) without troublesome dyskinesia relative to stable cDBS therapy.

Meaning Long-term aDBS provided tolerable, effective, and safe therapy in persons with Parkinson disease whose symptoms were previously stable while receiving cDBS.

An excitatory circuit in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray drives hypometabolic state during acute systemic inflammation

Xie et al. demonstrate that systemic inflammation activates a subset of glutamatergic neurons in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG). Manipulating these vlPAG glutamatergic neurons and their projections to the nucleus tractus solitarius modulates inflammation-induced sickness behaviors and hypometabolic states, including hypothermia, cardiovascular depression, reduced locomotion, and appetite suppression.

Dr. James Giordano: The Brain is the Battlefield of the Future

Dr. James Giordano, Chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program and Scholar-in-Residence in the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University, speaks to cadets and faculty about how advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology will impact the future of war. This event was hosted by the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Pro-inflammatory diets linked to accelerated brain aging in older adults

The study also utilized blood samples collected at the beginning of the research period. The investigators measured several biomarkers of systemic inflammation, including C-reactive protein and white blood cell counts. These markers were combined into a composite inflammation score. This score allowed the team to test if inflammation in the body explained the link between diet and brain changes.

The results revealed a significant association between dietary habits and brain aging. Individuals who consumed the most pro-inflammatory diets had a larger brain age gap compared to those who ate anti-inflammatory diets. Specifically, those in the most pro-inflammatory group had brains that appeared about half a year older on average than those in the healthiest diet group. This suggests that poor dietary quality may accelerate the biological clock of the brain.

This association was dependent on the age of the participants. The link between a pro-inflammatory diet and older brain age was much stronger in adults aged 60 and older. In this older demographic, a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with an advanced brain age of nearly a full year. This implies that older adults might be more vulnerable to the negative effects of a poor diet.

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