In a study from Cedars-Sinai, scientists suggest irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common gastrointestinal disorder, may be caused by gravity. They explain that IBS—and many other conditions—could result from the body’s inability to manage gravity. The hypothesis describes how the intestines, spine, heart, nerves and brain evolved to manage gravity.
Laser light therapy has been shown to be effective in improving short term memory in a study published in Science Advances.
Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Beijing Normal University in China, demonstrated that the therapy, which is non-invasive, could improve short term, or working memory in people by up to 25%.
The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), is applied to an area of the brain known as the right prefrontal cortex. This area is widely recognized as important for working memory. In their experiment, the team showed how working memory improved among research participants after several minutes of treatment. They were also able to track the changes in brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during treatment and testing.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a key molecule that contributes to understanding and treating neurological diseases like epilepsy and autism.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a long-sought gene-encoded protein that allows the brain to communicate a number of signals across synapses, or gaps between neurons.
The discovery was recently published in the journal Nature.
Abstract
Transcranial photobiomodulation enhances visual working memory capacity in humans
Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is a safe and noninvasive intervention that has shown promise for improving cognitive performance.
Whether tPBM can modulate brain activity and thereby enhance working memory (WM) capacity in humans remains unclear.
Why is consciousness so contentious? Neuroscience can increasingly explain many facets of consciousness, but what about conscious awareness itself? Some philosophers claim that although facets of consciousness—such as how we see edges or colors—can be explained, we have no possibility of explaining, in purely physical terms, the experience of consciousness.
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Tim Bayne received his undergraduate education from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and his graduate education at the University of Arizona. He taught at Macquarie University, Sydney from 2003 until 2006, and at the University of Oxford from 2007 until 2012.
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Researchers at Stanford and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed a technique for controlling neurons from a distance, without invasive implants.
By injecting a molecule called TRPV1 — which helps us sense the heat in capsaicin chili peppers — into the brains of mice, they could control specific brain cells from up to one meter (about three feet) using infrared light beams.
The ability to impact neurons, without invasive surgical methods or tethers sticking out of skulls, could help researchers study the brain during more normal behavior, like mice socializing together.
Elon Musk is confident that Neuralink will be able to restore vision in humans who are blind and full body functionality in humans who have a severed spinal cord.
Neuralink, another of Elon Musk’s companies, held its Show & Tell on Wednesday, and many revelations were shared in the live stream. One of those revelations included restoring vision even if someone was born blind. And also restoring full body functionality to someone with a severed spinal cord.
Elon Musk founded Neuralink to answer the question, “What do we do if there is a superintelligence that is much smarter than human beings? How do we, as a species, mitigate the risk or, in a benign scenario, go along for the ride?”