Sound Waves To Control Brain Cells Through Sonogenetics Discovered

Salk scientists have developed a new way to selectively activate brain, heart, muscle and other cells using ultrasonic waves. The new technique, dubbed sonogenetics, has some similarities to the burgeoning use of light to activate cells in order to better understand the brain.

This new method--which uses the same type of waves used in medical sonograms--may have advantages over the light-based approach--known as optogenetics--particularly when it comes to adapting the technology to human therapeutics. It was described September 15, 2015 in the journal Nature Communications.

"Light-based techniques are great for some uses and I think we're going to continue to see developments on that front," says Sreekanth Chalasani, an assistant professor in Salk's Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory and senior author of the study. "But this is a new, additional tool to manipulate neurons and other cells in the body."

In optogenetics, researchers add light-sensitive channel proteins to neurons they wish to study. By shining a focused laser on the cells, they can selectively open these channels, either activating or silencing the target neurons. But using an optogenetics approach on cells deep in the brain is difficult: typically, researchers have to perform surgery to implant a fiber optic cable that can reach the cells. Plus, light is scattered by the brain and by other tissues in the body.

New Brain Pathway Controlling Fear Memories and Behavior Discovered

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) dicovered a new pathway that controls fear memories and behavior in the mouse brain, offering mechanistic insight into how anxiety disorders may arise.

It is known that the amygdala is responsible for processing memory, decision-making, and emotional reactions. This covers fear memories and fear learning. This latest discovery which is published in Nature, extends the understanding further by finding out what are the controlling factors in and of the amygdala.

The researchers note that the processing of fear is stored within a distinct region of the brain. They found neuron circuit (called the PVT and CeL; see image) that controls fear. Disrupting the circuit results in a huge reduction of fear and strengthening it does the opposite. They also note that the chemical messenger used to transmit and control the fear emotion is BDNF, a molecule already associated with anxiety disorders.

The discovery of the neural circuit can be the basis for new therapies for treatment of anxiety disorders.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Found To Improve Memory

(c) Copyright: EPFL, Blue Brain Project

A study by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine find that stimulating a part of the brain with electromagnetic pulses in a process called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation can improve memory.

The non-invasive process uses electrical current using magnetic pulses to target a region of the brain. This is the first time that memory functions of a brain can be manipulated without the use of surgery or of drugs.

By targeting a specific area of the brain in the hippocampus, they observed that TMS can be used to improve memory for events at least 24 hours after the stimulation is given.

The study, published in Science, used 16 healthy adults ages 21 to 40 (see video below). They received brain stimulation through Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) twenty minutes a day for five consecutive days. It was noted that the group performed better on memory tests as a result of the brain stimulation and that it took three days of TMS before they improved.

Neurostimulation is a process where neurons in the nervous system are stimulated to either restore functionality of a certain organ, control an organ, or induce/reduce a specific nerve signal within the system. This is done through micro-electrodes that deliver electrical signals to the neurons.

There are four types of neurostimulation; Brain Stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS). Each of these types have been used to alter/improve brain activity in the past.

This recent discovery is the first to show how electrical stimulation can improve new learning long after treatment and may help treat memory disorders resulting from stroke, Alzheimer's Disease and other types of brain injury.

Working Memory - Studying How The Brain Performs Tasks Based On Memory

Credit: Badre Lab/Brown University

Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), researchers at Brown University released a study on how the brain, using working memory, chooses and plans a course of action or task or a series of task.

Similar to short term memory, working memory is a form of memory that keeps and uses information to complete a task or course of action. Working memory is stored in the brain for a limited amount of time; enough time to organize, plan, and execute the task.

The researchers at Brown measured the reaction time of 22 adult volunteers on how the receive, process, and execute a task using working memory. They find that the brain uses an area of the brain called the Caudate and the prefrontal cortex centered on the dorsal anterior premotor cortex. The image above shows the dorsal anterior premotor cortex lit up by MRI.

They also note that working memory uses similar uses similar circuits to those involved in planning motion.

Studying how working memory works helps in understanding brain cognition and also in finding how these parts of the brain affect behavior.

The Brain Rewrites and Edits Memories

A Northwestern Medicine study shows that memory is not as accurate as people might think. The study revealed that the brain rewrites stored memory infusing it with things from the present.

By conducting memory experiments on 17 men and women, the team used computers and an MRI scanner to observe how the brain worked during the experiment. They specifically show that memory is faulty, and that the brain can insert things from the present into past memories when those memories are retrieved. The study shows the exact point in time when that incorrectly recalled information gets implanted into an existing memory.

They also have observed that the hippocampus is the part of the brain when memory manipulation happens.

The purpose of memory, they note, is to assist in making a decision or reacting to a situation to better deal with it. The brain inserts present things not originally in the actual memory to make it more relevant to the current situation.

Brain Response Time Not Dependent on Number of Neurons in Neural Network

Anatomy of a Neuron

Neuroscientists using a supercomputer to run a simulation of a neural network, have noted that the response time of the brain is the same regardless if the number of neurons in the network is 50 or 1,000. The constructed computer simulation of the neural network showed that the simulated neurons responded with the same speed on both models.

Neurons are responsible for transmitting information and signals to and from the brain. These cells are the main component of the nervous system which includes the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral ganglia (relay points and intermediary connections between different neurological structures in the body).

There are around eighty to one hundred billion neurons in the human brain. These are interconnected to each other by around one hundred trillion synapses to form the neural network. This network transmits information through electrical and chemical signals between the body and the brain.

About 15% of the cardiac output, 20% of the body's oxygen, and 25% of the body's glucose utilization are the resource requirements of the neural network to perform efficiently.

The purpose of the study is to explain long standing questions on the neural network such as neural coordination, network behavior, size requirements, and response times (how the neurons are coordinated to trigger a movement at a particular point in time).

The neuroscientists at Vanderbilt University constructed the computer simulation using Vanderbilt's in-house supercomputer at the Advanced Computing Center for Research & Education. Even with the computing power of a supercomputer, the simulation can only model a neural network of up to 1000 neurons.

New Process Developed To Image How The Brain Forms Memories

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have imaged the brain while forming memories on the molecular level. This was achieved by tagging fluorescent beta-actin mRNA molecules using a mouse model.

The tagged molecules were observed by the scientists in real time while brain cells were forming memories. See embedded video.

They note that the stimulated individual hippocampal neurons caused a rapid transcription of the beta-actin gene within 10 to 15 minutes. The hippocampus is the region of the brain where where memories are made and stored. These beta-actin mRNA molecules continuously assemble and disassemble into large and small particles, respectively. These mRNA particles were seen traveling to their destinations in dendrites where beta-actin protein would be synthesized.

The neurons connect to each other through spines of dendrites where long-lasting synaptic connections form between neurons in contact with each other. The Beta-actin protein appears to strengthen these synaptic connections by altering the shape of dendritic spines.

Increased Brain Perception and Boosted Senses Through Low-intensity Transcranial-focused Ultrasound

William Tyler focusing low intensity ultrasound on brain region responsible for processing tactile sensory inputs.
Credit: Jim Stroup/Virginia Tech

A study conducted at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute showed that low intensity, transcranial-focused ultrasound can increase the brain's sensory perception.

Ultrasound is a sound pressure wave that is at a frequency that is above the hearing range of humans. Ultrasound is used in various common application such as detectors, non-contact sensors, and specially in medical imaging.

Focused ultrasound is a procedure where ultrasound waves are aimed at a specific region of the body. It is a non-invasive technique to stimulate the targeted tissue or organ without disturbing the surrounding area.

In the study, focused ultrasound was sent to the cerebral cortex region to stimulate the median nerve. This area processes brain signals received from the hand. By doing so, scientists discovered that the test subject started to show significant improvements in the sensory perception tests administered to them. They increased their ability to distinguish the frequency of a chain of air puffs as well as note whether one pin or two pins was touching their skin at a very close distance.

This study is a positive step towards developing applications that can use ultrasound as a noninvasive tool for modulating brain activity.

Ankyrin-G and Kinesin-1 Protein Responsible For Movement Mechanics of Neuron's Sodium Ion Channel to Axon

Nerve Impulse

Scientists have discovered how sodium ion channels travel from the neuron to the axon to initiate central nervous communications to and from the brain. They observed that two proteins, Ankyrin-G and Kinesin-1, play an important role in the process. The ankyrin-G protein tethers the sodium ion channel to the axon while kinesin-1 transports it to the axon.

This process is fundamental in moving nerve signals along the central nervous system. These nerve signals, carried by the sodium ion channel, cover information like sense (touch, feel, taste, etc), movement, memory, and thinking. These signals, which are electrical and chemical in nature, do not fire up all at once, it jumps from axon to axon.

The image of a neuron above shows how the nerve impulse travels along the axon which is the long, slender extension of the nerve cell body.

Scientists have long wondered how the mechanics of the movement of the sodium ion channels, the protein responsible for the signals, from the neuron to axon works. These proteins have to be delivered to the axon or else nothing happens.

There are about 80 to 100 billion neurons in the human brain. These are interconnected to each other through synapses in which there are about 100 trillion. The neural network transmits information through electrical and chemical signals.

Time and Brain Coordination Improves Memory Preservation.and Reduces Forgetfulness

Credit: Smithsonian, Photo Researchers, Inc.

Neuroscientist have discovered that coordinated brain activity increases with time after memory formation which results in better memory preservation.

Memory formation in the brain is processed in three stages; encoding, storing, and retrieving. In the encoding stage, information is transformed or encoded by the brain through chemical and electrical signals. Information is then stored in different regions of the brain depending on its type. The retrieval process brings these stored memories into conscious awareness.

The actual process of how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved is still not fully understood.

In this new study, neuroscientists have found that brain coordination during the memory process gets better as time goes by. In their experiment, they noted that a newly formed memory in the test subjects is strengthened when the whole process is reapplied the next day.

The Science of Learning: Studying The Role of Inhibitory Neurons in the Brain's Learning Process

Neurologists are looking at how inhibitory neurons in the brain affects the brain during times of critical learning. Neurons are cells that are responsible for processing and transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals to and from the brain.

Twenty percent of the brain's neurons are inhibitory neurons. The remaining are excitatory neurons. Inhibitory neurons are neurons that are likely not to send information to the brain or central nervous system. This process of sending information is called an action potential.

An excitatory neuron is a neuron that is more likely to generate an action potential.

Scientists have discovered that during a person's younger years, when learning is crucial, inhibitory neurons are not as active to allow the brain to receive more information. As the person gets older, these neurons become stronger which slows down the learning process.

Sleep Has Positive Effects in Learning Motor Tasks

Scientists are studying how sleep can enhance and reinforce motor tasks that is being learned during conscious periods.

Sleep is a regular biological activity where the body gets rest from physical activity and when the body starts to recover from sickness or fatigue. Healthy sleep also contributes to other positive factors such as emotional stress, healthy weight loss, and even cognitive functions.

A recent study on sleep shows that extending sleep time increases daytime alertness and pain sensitivity.

In this latest study, scientists used subjects who are learning a sequential finger tapping task (akin to playing the piano) and noted that those who had sleep afterwards performed better at the task than those who did not get sleep. The image shows the MRI of the brain and the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) which is the part of the brain found to be involved in the learning of the task.

Developing More Efficient Hearing Aids Through OCH Transduction

Researchers are studying how the cochlea, located in the ear, processes and amplifies sound. This research could lead to better hearing aids.

Scientists have discovered that hearing relies on a mechanical traveling wave that is actively boosted by electromechanical forces in sensory outer hair cells (OHCs). By studying the process of OHC transduction, better devices that can send more accurate sound signals to brain can be developed.

Transduction is the conversion of a sensory stimulus (hearing, sight, taste, etc) to a sensory signal that the brain can process.

Just recently, scientists have also discovered a protein called TMHS that may be a critical component in converting soundwaves to electrical signals that the brain can process.

Genetically Engineered Protein, ArcLight, Allows Direct Observation of Brain's Electrical Activity

Scientists have genetically engineered a new protein called ArcLight to observe electrical activity in the neurons of the brain.

The brain receives and transmits information by using electrical signals. These signals travel through synapses and neurons. By tracking neural activity in the body in real time, scientists get to understand how the brain works.

There are different ways to monitor and observe brain activity such as MRI and fMRI which monitors the blood, water, and oxygen flow in the brain through magnets and radio waves.

Another way is to use chemical calcium detectors that are fluorescent in nature. As signals travel through the neural network, the cells undergoes a shift in the concentration of its internal calcium ions. When this change in calcium ions is detected by the chemical, it reacts to it by glowing.

With the development of ArcLight, scientists may be able to directly observe neural electrical activity in real time and even in parts of the brain that were previously inaccessible using other techniques.

Neurohormone Oxytocin Focusing Ability May Have Links To Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Researchers may have discovered a link between the neurohormone oxytocin and autism. Studies at the NYU Langone Medical Center show that oxytocin help the brain process information by filtering out background signals and increases the strength of desired signals.

From past data, they have noted that people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have low levels of oxytocin and that mutations in the oxytocin receptor gene predispose people to autism.

Oxytocin is a neurohypophysial hormone present in mammals and acts primarily as a neuromodulator in the brain. Neuromodulators affect multiple neurons at once and are diffused through large areas of the nervous system.

Oxytocin is usually associated with parenting and social bonding behavior through psychological behaviors such as trust, pair bonding, and empathy.

Brain Waves From 12,000 Brain Neurons Simulated In A Computer

(c) Copyright: EPFL, Blue Brain Project

The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Blue Brain Project in Switzerland and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in the United States have built a computer model that simulates 12,000 neurons. This allows the scientists to learn more about brain waves and how neurons work and interact with each other.

The Computer visualization on the left shows the brain waves produced by 100 detailed models of nerve cells. The strength of the signal is represented by the following color scheme: green = weak signal, yellow = medium, red = strong.

Neurons behave differently from how computer chips operate. With computer chips, a steady stream of power is fed through it at a steady rate. Neurons transmit and process information that are sent in spikes.

The Blue Brain Project aims to complete a working computer model of the human brain. Although the project has simulated 12,000 neurons, it is still a far stride from a complete brain which has billions of neurons comprising the nervous system.

Neuromorphic Computer System Developed That Mimics the Brain

Researchers at the Institute of Neuroinformatics (INI), of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) have built a computer system that mimics how the brain works.

Neuroinformatics is the branch of science that studies how to convert the manner brain processes information to an artificial system.

A subfield of neuroinformatics is Neuromorphic engineering. By integrating and collaborating with other fields of science such as biology, physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering, neuromorphic engineering aims to develop artificial neural systems based on the brain and the nervous system.

Future applications of neuromorphic engineering are sensory systems that can mimic biological processes such as a fully cognitive heads up display, visions systems, auditory systems and other cognitive functions (i.e. decision making using short term/long term memory). In short, an artificial computer brain that can react with its environment in real time.

The researchers have configured an artificial system that copies the functions of neurons (brain cells) which can carry out complex sensorimotor tasks in real time.

Imaging Neurons While New Memories Are Formed Using mRNA Display and Microscopic FingRs Probes

Scientists have, for the first time, imaged neurons while new memories are being formed. This was done by using fluorescent markers on the synaptic proteins connected to the neurons. The scientists also developed microscopic probes called FingRs as well as a tracking technique, mRNA Display, to find and visualize the neurons during the memory formation process.

Neurons are the cells responsible for transmitting information to and from the brain. It is the core component of the nervous system. Each of these neurons are interconnected through synapses. Synapses are structures similar in function to telephone cables, that allow the passing of electrical or chemical signals between the neurons.

The image on the left (courtesy of Don Arnold), shows a living neuron in culture. The green dots indicate the excitatory synapses and the red dots indicate inhibitory synapses. An excitatory synapse is a synapse that increases the chance of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell. An inhibitory synapse is the opposite, it decreases the chance of an action potential.

Neurons need a lot of the body's resources to perform efficiently. The metabolic requirements for these require about 15% of the output of the heart (cardiac output), 20% of the body's oxygen consumption, and 25% of the body's glucose utilization. The brain only takes energy from glucose.

There are about 80 to 100 billion neurons in the human brain. And there are about 100 trillion synapses connecting the neurons together. Looking at a portion of the brain, the size of a pinhead, one would find around 30,000 neurons in it.

The most number of neurons a person could ever have is during the first trimester as a fetus. Neurons are not made or replaced during one's life. Current developments in medicine have shown that neurons can be made and repaired using stem cell technology.

Brain-Computer Interface Allows Helicopter To Fly Under Mind Control

IEEE Fellow Bin He

A helicopter has been developed that can be controlled just by the power of thought. A brain computer interface that the person wears allows him to pilot the helicopter just by thinking.

In the early 1980's, Clint Eastwood starred in the movie, Firefox, where a Russian jet can be controlled by the mind of the pilot.

Just like in the movie, the signals from the brain are picked up by a cap worn by the pilot. The cap had 64 electrodes through which it recorded the electrical activity of the brain from which a computer translates into movements the helicopter will take. This technique is known as electroencephalography (EEG).

Watch the helicopter as it is flown through a series of obstacles in the embedded video below.

Research on mind controlled devices can result in practical mind controlled applications such as for prosthetic limbs, non verbal communication, and also for motorized transportation for invalids.

It also can lead to applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, sight and movement.

Visual Motion Intelligence Test To Measure IQ

A science study by researchers at the University of Rochester have found a link between the brain's ability to filter out background movement and its intelligence. Test reveals that those who automatically suppress visual background movement scored higher in standard intelligence tests.

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a score that is determined by a series of tests. The score reveals the value of intelligence a person has. The average score set for a specified age group is 100 (tests differ from age group to age group). About 95% of people score an IQ between 70 and 100.

A study by James R. Flynn showed a consistent increase in IQ over time. Known as the Flynn effect, IQ scores increases three points every ten years. Observations reveal that the Flynn effect is consistent across regions.

IQ tests are updated periodically to standardize the test scores to an average of 100 points. The latest study on the relationship between visual movement and intelligence may help develop a natural, non-verbal and culturally unbiased way of determining one's IQ.