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Nearly all the neural networks that power modern artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT are based on a 1960s-era computational model of a living neuron. A new model developed at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Neuroscience (CCN) suggests that this decades-old approximation doesn’t capture all the computational abilities that real neurons possess and that this older model is potentially holding back AI development.

A UK teenager with severe epilepsy has become the first person in the world to be fitted with a brain implant aimed at bringing seizures under control.

Oran Knowlson’s neurostimulator sits under the skull and sends electrical signals deep into the brain, reducing his daytime seizures by 80%.

His…


His mother, Justine, said that her son had been happier, chattier and had a much better quality of life since receiving the device. “The future looks hopeful, which I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying six months ago,” she said.

Martin Tisdall, a consultant paediatric neurosurgeon who led the surgical team at Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) in London, said: “For Oran and his family, epilepsy completely changed their lives and so to see him riding a horse and getting his independence back is absolutely astounding. We couldn’t be happier to be part of their journey.”

Oran, who is 13 and lives in Somerset, had the surgery in October as part of a trial at Gosh in partnership with University College London, King’s College hospital and the University of Oxford. Oran has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, external, a treatment-resistant form of epilepsy which he developed at the age of three.

Research in nonhuman primates is opening the possibility of testing treatments for the early stages of Alzheimer’s and similar diseases, before extensive brain cell death and dementia set in. A study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia shows up to a six-month window in which disease progress could be tracked and treatments tested in rhesus macaques.

This study identifies a small molecule (TAC) that restores physiological levels of TERT throughout aged tissues, resulting in the rejuvenation of multiple tissues. Specifically, TAC administration in very aged mice alleviates multiple aging hallmarks such as cellular senescence and systemic inflammation, promotes new neuron formation with improved cognitive ability, enhances neuromuscular function, and is well tolerated with no evidence of toxicity.

A little scifi sold again as near future situation.


Introducing Cognify, the prison of the future. This facility is designed to treat criminals like patients. Instead of spending years in an actual prison cell, prisoners could finish their sentence here in just a few minutes. Cognify could someday create and implant artificial memories directly into the prisoner’s brain. It could offer a new approach to criminal rehabilitation, transforming how society deals with offenders by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment. #Science #Technology #Research #NeuroScience #psychology.

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A recent study at MIT has debunked the effectiveness of a new MRI method called DIANA, which was initially thought to directly detect neural activity.

Instead, the signals detected were found to be artifacts produced by the imaging process itself, highlighting the complexities and challenges in developing accurate neuroimaging techniques.

According to scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, a new way of imaging the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not directly detect neural activity as originally reported.

Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep?

A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration. The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Why sleep is important and how it works Sleep gives our bodies the chance to rest and recover from wakeful activity. Our hearts, blood vessels, muscles, cells, immune systems, cognitive abilities, and memory-making abilities depend on regular, healthy sleep for optimal functioning, and a 2019 study suggests that sleep is important for repairing DNA damage that occurs during wakefulness.

Scientists in Japan say they have reversed the signs of Alzheimer’s disease in lab mice by restoring the healthy function of synapses, critical parts of neurons that shoot chemical messages to other neurons.

The secret was developing a synthetic peptide, a small package of amino acids — a mini-protein, if you will — and injecting it up the nostrils of the mice, in an experiment they detailed in a study published in the journal Brain Research.

Needless to say, mice are very different from humans. But if the treatment successfully survives the gauntlet of clinical studies with human participants, it could potentially lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a tragic degenerative condition that burdens tens of millions of people around the world.