Neural prosthesis restores normal behavior after brain injury

A new study published in PNAS this month reported used of Brain Machine Interface to successfully restore behavior, in this case, the ability to reach through a narrow opening and grasp food, in a brain-injured rat. Ultimately, the team hopes to develop a device that rapidly and substantially improves function after brain injury in humans.

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3D printer creates realistic neurosurgical models for training

A new multi-material 3D printer was used to create realistic, low-cost model of the skull for use by students in practicing neurosurgical techniques. The model uses a variety of materials that simulate the various consistencies and densities of human tissues encountered during neurosurgery.

Neurosurgery is a difficult discipline to master. Trainees may spend as many as 10 years after graduation from medical school developing and honing their surgical skills before they can be designated as proficient in their specialty. The greater the number and variety of neurosurgical training sessions, the better the training experience.

However, the researchers say, it’s difficult to find suitable simulation models that offer accuracy and realism for neurosurgical training while keeping training costs down.

Three-dimensional printers have been used to create models of normal and pathological human tissues and organs for physician training and patient instruction for some time.  Until recently, however, only one material could be used in the creation of models, which is of little value for hands-on training.

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Mind-controlled robots in manufacturing, medicine

University at Buffalo researchers are developing brain-computer interface (BCI) devices to mentally control robots. “The technology has practical applications that we’re only beginning to explore,” said Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas, PhD, UB professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of UB’s Virtual Reality Laboratory. “For example, it could help paraplegic patients to control assistive devices, or it could help factory workers perform advanced manufacturing tasks.”

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Does your brain see things you don’t?

A new study indicates that our brains perceive objects in everyday life that we may not be consciously aware of.

Study participants’ brainwaves captured using EEG indicated that even if a person never consciously recognized the shapes on the outside of the image, their brains still processed those shapes to the level of understanding their meaning.

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A Brain-Machine Interface for Control of Medically-Induced Comma

Researchers have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that monitors a patient’s brain activity with EEG and adjusts the anesthetic infusion rate to precisely control the level of brain activation in a medically induced coma or for general anesthesia, according to a study published online in the journal PLoS Computational Biology.

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First human brain-to-brain interface

The telepathic cyborg lives, sort of. University of Washington scientists Rajesh Rao and Andrea Stocco claim that they are the first to demonstrate human brain-to-brain communication. Rao sent a signal into a Stocco's brain via the Internet that caused him to move his right hand. Brain-to-brain communication has previously been demonstrated between rats and from humans to rats.
"The experiment is a proof in concept. We have tech to reverse engineer the brain signal and transmit it from one brain to another via computer," said Chantel Prat, an assistant professor of psychology who worked on the project.

The schematic diagram shows how the brainwave signal was transferred from one brain to another.

(Credit: University of Washington)

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Neuroscientists plant false memories in the brain

he phenomenon of false memory has been well-documented: In many court cases, defendants have been found guilty based on testimony from witnesses and victims who were sure of their recollections, but DNA evidence later overturned the conviction.

In a step toward understanding how these faulty memories arise, MIT neuroscientists have shown that they can plant false memories in the brains of mice. They also found that many of the neurological traces of these memories are identical in nature to those of authentic memories.

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Chips that mimic the brain

Novel microchips imitate the brain’s information processing in real time. Neuroinformatics researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich together with colleagues from the EU and US demonstrate how complex cognitive abilities can be incorporated into electronic systems made with so-called neuromorphic chips: They show how to assemble and configure these electronic systems to function in a way similar to an actual brain.

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A fatigue detection device for drivers based on eye tracking

An EPFL student, Peugeot Citroën, has developed a video analysis algorithm able to estimate the level of a driver’s fatigue based on the degree of eyelid closure and has built a prototype to test it in real driving conditions.

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The future of gaming - using neurophysiological signals

Gaming as a hobby evokes images of lethargic teenagers huddled over their controllers, submerged in their couch surrounded by candy bar wrappers. This image should soon hit the reset button since a more exciting version of gaming is coming. It's called neurogaming, and it's riding on the heels of some exponential technologies that are converging on each other

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