For years it was believed the brain was an elusive black box which we simply didn’t understand. And it’s true, scientific knowledge of the brain has been hard won.
Continue reading… “The future of the quantified brain”
‘Matrix’-like brain training to speed up physical therapy possible in the future
It’s no easy task to learn to walk again after a traumatic accident. One of the hardest things for motor-impaired patients is to generate the correct brain signals to help them recover efficiently.
Continue reading… “‘Matrix’-like brain training to speed up physical therapy possible in the future”
Paralyzed man first to walk using brain power alone
A paralyzed man is able to move using his brainpower thanks to a ‘neural-bypass procedure’ that has been heralded a world first. Neurosurgeons achieved the world first by transmitting signals from the 26-year-old American’s brain to electrodes placed around both knees.
Continue reading… “Paralyzed man first to walk using brain power alone”
Why electronic brain stimulation is trending right now
There seems to be no end to the benefits of electronic brain stimulation. Focused thinking, better memory, deeper sleep, relief from depression, reduced stress are among some of the benefits you read about on the internet. In particular, a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation is getting loads of attention from early adopters who rave about its potential and scientists who are trying to unravel what it can and cannot do.
Continue reading… “Why electronic brain stimulation is trending right now”
Scientists develop a brain-computer interface for controlling an exoskeleton
Korea University and TU Berlin scientists have developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) for a lower limb exoskeleton used for gait assistance by decoding specific signals from the user’s brain.
Continue reading… “Scientists develop a brain-computer interface for controlling an exoskeleton”
New discovery of vessels linking the brain to the immune system
New research has found that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist. The finding means the textbooks will have to be rewritten.
Continue reading… “New discovery of vessels linking the brain to the immune system”
Comparing brain vs deep learning and the computational complexity of these processes
Tim Dettmers: In this blog post I will delve into the brain and explain its basic information processing machinery and compare it to deep learning. I do this by moving step-by-step along with the brains electrochemical and biological information processing pipeline and relating it directly to the architecture of convolutional nets. Thereby we will see that a neuron and a convolutional net are very similar information processing machines. While performing this comparison, I will also discuss the computational complexity of these processes and thus derive an estimate for the brains overall computational power. I will use these estimates, along with knowledge from high performance computing, to show that it is unlikely that there will be a technological singularity in this century.
Scientists grow human mini-brains that are giving big insights into autism
Scientists first grew mini-hearts in a lab. Then they 3D printed skin. Now scientists have taken “body on a chip” to a whole new level.
Continue reading… “Scientists grow human mini-brains that are giving big insights into autism”
Curing blindness by healing eyes and brain together with gene therapy
Reversing blindness, repairing damaged cells int he eye and also rearranges the brain to help process the new information with gene therapy. Continue reading… “Curing blindness by healing eyes and brain together with gene therapy”
Spoken sentences can be reconstructed from brain activity patterns
It is now possible to reconstruct spoken sentences from activity patterns of the human brain surface. “Brain to Text” combines knowledge from neuroscience, medicine and informatics.
Continue reading… “Spoken sentences can be reconstructed from brain activity patterns”
New theory suggests consciousness is global in the brain
Researchers from Vanderbilt University are challenging previous hypotheses that changes in restricted areas of the brain were responsible for producing awareness, with evidence that awareness or consciousness results from widespread communication across sensory and association areas of the cortex. Continue reading… “New theory suggests consciousness is global in the brain”
Scientists could soon be reading your memories
Researchers have successfully mapped rats’ memories, could humans be next? Continue reading… “Scientists could soon be reading your memories”
