NT/ Musk-backed Neuralink unveils upgraded brain-implant technology
ParadigmFollowSep 4 · 33 min read
Neuroscience biweekly vol. 14, 22th August — 5th September
TL;DR
- Elon Musk has unveiled a pig called Gertrude with a coin-sized computer chip in her brain to demonstrate his ambitious plans to create a working brain-to-machine interface.
- Subscalp brain monitoring devices could offer long-term, continuous, and reliable recording of neural activity at home and in the clinic.
- Researchers have developed a neurologically acting protein and tested it in laboratory studies. In mice, the experimental compound ameliorated symptoms of certain neurological injuries and diseases, while on the microscopic level it was able to establish and repair connections between neurons. This proof-of-principle study suggests that biologics, which act on neuronal connectivity, could be of clinical use in the long term.
- The new study finds that the fusiform face area is active when blind people touch 3D models of faces.
- ‘Jumping’ sequences of DNA, known as transposable elements, partner up with evolutionarily recent proteins to influence the differentiation and physiological functioning of human neurons.
- Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding how the enteric nervous system forms, which could pave the way for new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
- A new method of brain imaging analysis offers the potential to greatly improve the effectiveness of noninvasive brain stimulation treatment for Alzheimer’s, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and other conditions.
- Researchers have identified specific sub-populations of brain cells in the prefrontal cortex, a key part of the brain that regulates social behavior, that are required for normal sociability in adulthood and are profoundly vulnerable to juvenile social isolation in mice.
- Researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital and Université de Montréal have made a major discovery in understanding the mechanisms underlying learning and memory formation.
- Exercise fights off stress by increasing levels of the brain protein galanin, according to research in mice recently published in JNeurosci.
- An international research team now reports that problems in spatial navigation can also be detected in people with a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. Their article was published in the journal Science Advances.
- In a new study from the Danish psychiatry project iPSYCH, researchers have identified genetic risk factors for developing bipolar disorder and psychoses among people with depression. In the longer term, the results may contribute to ensuring the correct diagnosis is made earlier, so that the patients can receive the correct treatment as quickly as possible.
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