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Category: neuroscience – Page 679

Ryan Raut: Linking Brain States and Brain Networks through Traveling Waves

Dr. Ryan Raut talks to us about some of his recent work on brain states and brain networks, linking them through synchronized traveling waves:
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf2709
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/34/20890.short.

This video is part of the SNAC Chat series organized by Mac Shine, Joe Lizier, Ben Fulcher, and Oliver Cliff (The University of Sydney).

SNAC Chats are less formal and more interactive than the typical seminars hosted by the Sydney Systems Neuroscience and Complexity (SNAC) group.

Meet the Mexican girl with an IQ higher than Einstein’s

Mexico City.- At just eight years old, Adhara Perez is the girl who exceeded the IQ of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking with 162. She dreams of being an astronaut one day, but she came to think that this would be impossible.

When she was three years old, the little girl from the slums of Tlahuac, in Mexico City, was diagnosed with Asperger (autism spectrum). “I made a mockery at school”, she said.

Her classmates called her “weird” and the teachers came to think that she would not have much future in the academy. Nallely Sanchez, mother of the child, did not realize the situation and did not want her daughter to suffer.

Corpus callosum found to switch off right hemisphere during speech

A study by the HSE Centre for Language and Brain has confirmed the role of the corpus callosum in language lateralization, the distribution of language processing functions between the brain’s hemispheres. The authors came up with an innovative language task for their study subjects and applied advanced neuroimaging methods to the data collected. A paper on their findings has been published in PLoS ONE.

Functional asymmetry between the two cerebral hemispheres in performing higher-level cognitive functions is a major characteristic of the human . For example, the left hemisphere plays a leading role in processing in most people. However, between 10% and 15% of the human population also use the right hemisphere to varying degrees for the same task.

Traditionally, language lateralization to the right hemisphere was explained by handedness, as it is mainly found in left-handed and ambidextrous (using both hands equally well) individuals. But recent research has demonstrated a genetic difference in the way language is processed by left-handed and ambidextrous people. In addition to this, some right-handed people also involve their right hemisphere in language functions.

The key to a longer, healthier life is dealing with inflammation — here’s how to do it

It’s a hidden, lifelong process that’s tied to cancer, heart disease and dementia, but there’s plenty you can do to fix the damage In the past few years, a new buzzword has entered conversations about illness and disease. Doctors are increasingly talking about “inflammation” – a term which describes the automatic response – or flaring up – of the body when it tries to fight infections, toxins and trauma.

Korea’s smart lens technology could detect Alzheimer’s at early stages

The lens is inserted into the eye of the patient to detect the biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease.

The KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials) has developed South Korea’s first smart lens technology to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. The KIMM research team has worked on this project in collaboration with Yonsei University.

ChrisChrisW/iStock.

The lens is Korea’s first intraocular smart lens technology that can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. Bioactive Materials, a popular journal in the field of biomaterials, published the results of the research.

Novel Neurofeedback Technique Enhances Awareness of Mind-Wandering

Summary: Researchers have developed a novel neurofeedback technique based on Pavlovian conditioning that detects when a person’s mind is wandering.

Source: ATR Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory Group

Everyone knows the feeling. You are trying to concentrate on driving or studying, or paying attention in a boring meeting, but suddenly, you realize that you are thinking about something irrelevant to the task at hand.

Gene Mutation Linked to Autism Found to Overstimulate Brain Cells

A new study led by scientists at Rutgers University has uncovered new insights into the underlying brain mechanisms of autism spectrum disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that affects how a person communicates and interacts with others. It is characterized by difficulty with social communication and interaction, as well as repetitive behaviors and interests. ASD can range from mild to severe, and individuals with ASD may have a wide range of abilities and challenges. It is a spectrum disorder because the symptoms and characteristics of ASD can vary widely from person to person. Some people with ASD are highly skilled in certain areas, such as music or math, while others may have significant learning disabilities.

Uploading and Branching Identity

If a brain is uploaded into a computer, will consciousness continue in digital form or will it end forever when the brain is destroyed? Philosophers have long debated such dilemmas and classify them as questions about personal identity. There are currently three main theories of personal identity: biological, psychological, and closest continuer theories. None of these theories can successfully address the questions posed by the possibility of uploading. I will argue that uploading requires us to adopt a new theory of identity, psychological branching identity. Psychological branching identity states that consciousness will continue as long as there is continuity in psychological structure. What differentiates this from psychological identity is that it allows identity to continue in multiple selves.

Paralyzed patients effectively control computer in a historic trial

All four participants were able to send out neural signals.

Medical technology company Synchron published in a press release on Monday the results of a clinical study that saw paralyzed patients effectively send out neural signals via an implantable brain-computer interface.

The study highlighted the long-term safety results from a clinical study in which four patients with severe paralysis implanted with Synchron’s first-generation Stentrode, a neuroprosthesis device, were able to control a computer.

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