Items tagged with neuroscience
One of the potentially devastating side effects of strokes is the loss of ability to speak. Researchers for the most part have adopted “spelling-based” systems that allow patients to type out their words one letter at a time. However, researchers have recently discovered other ways for patients to more quickly communicate. Neuroprosthesis allows researchers to translate signals that are supposed to control the muscles of the vocal system into actual words. The study was led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and its results were recently published in the July 2021 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The participant in the study was one who had...
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While anyone could say a good movie, book, or video game made them feel emotional, scientists did not understand why until now. A research team at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, found that emotions result from the synchronization of several neural systems throughout the brain. They found this out by analyzing volunteers' "feelings, expressions, and physiological responses" while playing a video game designed for arousing different emotions depending on the game's progress. As the University of Geneva press release explains, "Emotions are complex phenomena that influence our minds, bodies, and behavior." This complexity makes emotions challenging to understand and study. Previously, theories...
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Facebook appears to be working diligently towards telepathic communication and mind-reading. Their mysterious Building 8 team has just opened job listings for a “Neural Imaging Engineer”, “Haptics Engineer”, and “Brain-Computer Interface Engineer”. The responsibilities for the job listings are rather vague. The Neural Imaging Engineer would be in charge of designing and reviewing neuro-imaging “methods based on optical, RF, ultrasound, or other entirely non-invasive approaches”. The Haptics Engineer would “lead, define, and develop haptics effects and haptics illusions in software and hardware”. The Brain-Computer Interface Engineer would be in charge of the application of machine learning methods,...
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This might not come as a huge surprise, but researchers have confirmed that our intense mobile use has affected our brains - but don't worry, there's no proof here that it's for the worse. Both the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich believe that the way we interact with our mobile devices could prove extremely useful for research, since it can allow scientists to study how our brain effectively 'resculpts' itself on a large scale. This kind of research isn't new, per se. Gamers have been studied, for example, to see how their brain reacts to all sorts of conditions, and if you're a gamer yourself (or a musician, as another example), you no doubt know that the brain is a very moldable thing....
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