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Category: neuroscience – Page 484

MIT 9.13 The Human Brain, Spring 2019

Neuroscience playlist.

Instructor: Nancy Kanwisher View the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/9-13S19 YouTube Playlist: This course surveys the core perceptual and cognitive abilities of the human mind and explores how they are implemented in the brain… NOTE: * Lecture 3. Master Class: Human Brain Dissection (in-class dissection—video not recorded) * NOTE: Lecture 12: Brain-Machine Interface with Guest Lecturer Michael Cohen is unavailable * Lecture 14: New Methods Applied to Number (student breakout groups—video not recorded) * Lecture 17: MEG Decoding and RSA (video not recorded) * Lecture 19: Language II (class canceled—video not recorded) * Lecture 22: Experimental Design (student breakout groups—video not recorded) * Lecture 23: Deep Networks (2021) (video will be added soon) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at https://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at https://ocw.mit.edu Support OCW at http://ow.ly/a1If50zVRlQ We encourage constructive comments and discussion on OCW’s YouTube and other social media channels. Personal attacks, hate speech, trolling, and inappropriate comments are not allowed and may be removed. More details at https://ocw.mit.edu/comments.

Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt improves brain function in both younger and older adults†

Brain function is important for a good quality of life. Pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium salt (PQQ) has been proven to improve brain function and cognition in older adults (above 45 years). In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the effects of PQQ on cognitive function in adults aged between 20 and 65 years. PQQ (20 mg per day) was administered for 12 weeks to the participants. After 12 weeks, the participants showed improvements in composite memory and verbal memory. A further age-stratified analysis was performed. In younger adults (aged 20–40 years), PQQ improved cognitive function (cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and execution speed) after 8 weeks. Only older adults (aged 41–65 years) showed improvements in complex and verbal memory after 12 weeks. In the logistic regression analysis that included the results of all cognitive tests, the changes due to PQQ intake were observed at 8 and 12 weeks in the young and old groups, respectively.

Grimes said she got a brain gadget for her birthday from a company competing with Elon Musk’s Neuralink

Neurosity’s headset uses electroencephalogram technology, or EEG, to measure brain activity by placing small metal electrodes on a person’s scalp. If the electrodes detect decreased electrical activity in the brain, the Crown plays music and sounds, or pulses vibrations, hoping those actions will help the user focus.

But some developers, it seems, have taken Neurosity’s tech a step further, turning the Crown into a more traditional brain computer interface that can allow users to control a computer using only their mind.

One owner of the gadget claimed they’ve used it to drive a Tesla, moving the electric car short distances by doing some mental math, which signals to the device that the person wearing it is exerting a lot of cognitive effort.

Grimes got a new brain gadget for her 35th birthday.

“Getting a non invasive brain computer interface for my birthday (!!!!?),” she tweeted Friday. “Yeah it’s a good time to be alive.”

Neurosity CEO AJ Keller confirmed that the singer, named Claire Boucher, had asked for one of the company’s headsets, known as the Crown, in a custom white color.

Continue reading “Grimes said she got a brain gadget for her birthday from a company competing with Elon Musk’s Neuralink” | >

5 Best Types of Video Games for TBI Rehabilitation

Who would have thought that video games are good for TBI? I play them sometimes. Time for that, and not just music.

Video games may help TBI patients recover their physical and cognitive abilities faster than traditional therapy, according to recent research.

Although they might seem like just a pleasant distraction, video games engage several parts of the brain at once and can even promote neuroplasticity.

Today’s article will explain the many therapeutic uses video games offer. Then, we will show you some of the best types of video games for TBI.

A higher dose of magnesium each day keeps dementia at bay

More magnesium in our daily diet leads to better brain health as we age, according to scientists from the Neuroimaging and Brain Lab at The Australian National University (ANU).

The researchers say increased intake of -rich foods such as spinach and nuts could also help reduce the risk of dementia, which is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the seventh biggest killer globally.

The study of more than 6,000 cognitively healthy participants in the United Kingdom aged 40 to 73 found people who consume more than 550 milligrams of magnesium each day have a brain age that is approximately one year younger by the time they reach 55 compared with someone with a normal magnesium intake of about 350 milligrams a day.

Study: Diabetes and tooth loss together worsen cognitive decline

Having both diabetes and tooth loss contributes to worse cognitive function and faster cognitive decline in older adults, according to a new study published in a special issue of the Journal of Dental Research focused on aging and oral health.

“Our findings underscore the importance of dental care and for older adults in reducing the devastating personal and societal costs of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias,” said Bei Wu, vice dean for research at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and co-director of the NYU Aging Incubator, as well as the study’s lead author.

Diabetes is a known risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Several of the hallmarks of —high blood sugar, , inflammation, and related heart disease—are thought to contribute to changes in the brain.

Big improvements to brain-computer interface

When people suffer spinal cord injuries and lose mobility in their limbs, it’s a neural signal processing problem. The brain can still send clear electrical impulses and the limbs can still receive them, but the signal gets lost in the damaged spinal cord.

The Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE)—a collaboration of San Diego State University with the University of Washington (UW) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—is working on an implantable brain chip that can record neural electrical signals and transmit them to receivers in the limb, bypassing the damage and restoring movement. Recently, these researchers described in a study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports a critical improvement to the technology that could make it more durable, last longer in the body and transmit clearer, stronger signals.

The technology, known as a brain-computer interface, records and transmits signals through electrodes, which are tiny pieces of material that read signals from brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. By recording brain signals at the moment a person intends to make some movement, the interface learns the relevant electrical signal pattern and can transmit that pattern to the limb’s nerves, or even to a prosthetic limb, restoring mobility and motor function.

Graphene and gold make a better brain probe

A team from Korea created more flexible neural electrodes that minimize tissue damage and still transmit clear brain signals.

Electrodes placed in the record neural activity, and can help treat neural diseases like Parkinson’s and epilepsy. Interest is also growing in developing better brain-machine interfaces, in which electrodes can help control prosthetic limbs. Progress in these fields is hindered by limitations in electrodes, which are relatively stiff and can damage soft brain tissue.

Designing smaller, gentler electrodes that still pick up brain signals is a challenge because brain signals are so weak. Typically, the smaller the electrode, the harder it is to detect a signal. However, a team from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology in Korea developed new probes that are small, flexible and read brain signals clearly.