Electric ‘thinking cap’
Cram sessions that are fueled by caffeine are routine occurrences on any college campus. But what if there was a better, safer way to learn new or difficult material more quickly? What if “thinking caps” were real?
Continue reading… “Electric ‘thinking cap’ can help you learn faster and better”
Cefaly
More than 36 million people suffer from consistent migraine pain in the U.S. alone. Migraine pain is intense, debilitating, and recurring. It usually consists of a throbbing pain on one side of the head, and is often accompanied by other symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, dizziness and a sensitivity to sounds and light. There are both prescription and over-the-counter medications that can help, but some migraine sufferers cannot tolerate these medicines, at least without nasty side effects. The FDA now has good news for these people: the agency just approved a new headband-shaped device that uses electrical stimulation to battle migraine pain. (Video)
Continue reading… “Cefaly – an electric headband that zaps migraines away”
The discovery of cannabinoid receptors may help explain why marijuana users say they take the drug mainly to reduce anxiety.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found cannabinoid receptors, through which marijuana exerts its effects, in a key emotional hub in the brain involved in regulating anxiety and the flight-or-fight response.
Continue reading… “Researchers discover marijuana’s anxiety relief effects”
Mary Lou Jepsen
Mary Lou Jepsen, an expert on cutting-edge digital displays, studies how to show our most creative ideas on screens. And as a brain surgery patient herself, she is driven to know more about the neural activity that underlies invention, creativity, thought. She meshes these two passions in a rather mind-blowing talk on two cutting-edge brain studies that might point to a new frontier in understanding how (and what) we think. (Video)
Continue reading… “Could future devices read images from our brains?”
Programmers use existing language regions of the brain to understand code.
Computer programming is a deeply complex but relatively new human activity. Its young age has lent itself to countless battles and hotly debated topics that despite the many compelling arguments presented, we seemingly have no definitive answers for. All that is about to change: An international team of scientists lead by Dr. Janet Siegmund is using brain imaging with fMRI to understand the programmer’s mind. Understanding the brain offers us the chance to distill these complex issues into fundamental answers.
Continue reading… “Neuroscience of programming: Understanding programmers’ brains”
A switch in the brain sends us off to sleep.
In a study in fruit flies, researchers at Oxford University’s Centre for Neural Circuits and Behavior have identified a switch in the brain that sends us off to sleep.
Continue reading… “Scientists discover a switch in the brain that makes us sleep”
Placebo effect
Placebos are the miracle pills that shouldn’t really do anything. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they contain no active ingredient. And yet, mysteriously, they often seem to work.
Continue reading… “Placebos – the medicine in our minds”
Genius happens when a seasoned mind sees a problem with fresh eyes.
The former frontman of the band LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy, made what he called the biggest mistake of his life at 21, when he turned down a writing job on a sitcom that was about to launch.
Continue reading… “Your late 30’s is when your biggest breakthroughs will happen”
Neurocam
Scientists at Keio University have developed a “neurocam” — a wearable camera system that detects emotions, based on an analysis of the user’s brainwaves. (Video)
Continue reading… “Wearable ‘neurocam’ reads your brainwaves and records your interests”
A nicotine patch could be used for the treatment of neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s, mild cognitive impairment, ADHD, Tourette’s, and schizophrenia.
Dan Hurley, author of Smarter: The New Science of Building Brain Power, is on a quest to make his brain work better. He is looking into the evidence for why nicotine may be the best bet for building brain power.
Continue reading… “Can a nicotine patch make you smarter?”
Nature Neuroscience has just released a paper that proposes a new tool for neuroscientists who want to stimulate the brain – ultrasound.
Continue reading… “Ultrasound is the future of brain stimulation”
Our brains edit our memories with new information by updating our past memories.
Try thinking about your fifth birthday when your mom was carrying the cake. Can you remember what her face looked like? You are not alone if you have a hard time imagining the way she looked then rather than how she looks now.
Continue reading… “How our brains put the present in the past by rewriting our memories”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.