Neuro. Technology. As any technology. That has a fundamental. Influence, on how people understand. The brain and various, aspects, of consciousness dot, and higher-order, activities. In the brain, it. Also includes. Technologies. That are designed, to improve and, repair brain function, and allow researchers. And clinicians to, visualize, the brain. Topic. Background. The, field of neuro technology. Has been around for, nearly half a century but. Has only reached, maturity in, the last 20, years, the. Advent, of brain imaging, revolutionized. The field allowing, researchers to, directly. Monitor, the brain's activities. During experiments. Neuro. Technology. Has made significant. Impact, on society. Though its presence, as so commonplace, that many do not realize its. Ubiquity. From. Pharmaceutical. Drugs to brain scanning, neuro, technology. Affects nearly all industrialized. People, either directly, or indirectly, be, it from drugs for depression. Sleep ADD or, anti, neurotics, to cancer, scanning, stroke, rehabilitation and. Much more as. The. Fields, depth increases, it will potentially, allow society. To control, and harness more of what the brain does and how it influences. Lifestyles. And personalities. Commonplace. Technologies. Already attempt. To do this games, like brain egde and programs, like fast-forward, that aim to improve brain, function our, neuro technologies. Currently. Modern. Science, can image nearly, all aspects, of the brain as well as control, a degree, of the function, of the brain it. Can help control, depression. Over activation. Sleep, deprivation and, many other conditions. Therapeutically. It can help improve stroke, victims, motor coordination, improve. Brain function reduce. Epileptic, episodes, see epilepsy. Improve, patients, with degenerative. Motor diseases. Parkinson's. Disease, Huntington's. Disease, ALS and. Can even help alleviate, phantom. Pain perception. Advances. In the field promise, many new enhancements. And rehabilitation. Methods, for patients, suffering from neurological, problems. The. Neuro technology. Revolution. Has given rise to the decade, of the mind initiative, which was started in 2007. It. Also offers. The possibility of, revealing, the mechanisms. By which mind, and consciousness, emerge, from the brain. You. Topic. Current. Technologies. You. You. Topic. Live, imaging. Magnetoencephalography. As. A functional. Neuroimaging technique. For mapping brain activity. By recording, magnetic, fields, produced by electrical. Currents, occurring, naturally, in the brain using. Very sensitive, magnetometers. Arrays. Of squids. Superconducting. Quantum interference, devices. Are the most common, magnetometer. Applications. Of meg include, basic, research into perceptual, and cognitive brain. Processes. Localizing. Regions, affected by pathology. Before, surgical, removal determining.
The Function of various, parts of the brain and neurofeedback. This. Can be applied in a clinical, setting to find locations. Of abnormalities. As well as in an experimental setting, to simply, measure brain, activity, magnetic. Resonance imaging, MRI is. Used, for scanning the brain for topological. And landmark, structure, in the brain but can also be used for imaging, activation. In the brain, while. Detail, about how MRI, works, as reserved, for the actual, MRI, article. The uses of MRI, are far-reaching, in the study of neuroscience, it. Is, a cornerstone, technology. In studying, the mind especially with the advent of functional, MRI, fMRI. Functional. MRI. Measures. The oxygen, levels in the brain upon, activation, higher oxygen, content equals, neural, activation and, allows researchers to, understand. What Llosa are responsible. For activation, under, a given stimulus. This. Technology. Is a large, improvement to single cell or low C activation. By means of exposing. The brain and contact, stimulation. Functional. MRI, allows researchers, to, draw, associative. Relationships between. Different, Llosa and regions, of the brain and provides a large amount, of knowledge in establishing, new landmarks. And low sigh in the brain computed. Tomography CT. Is, another, technology, used, for scanning the brain it. Has. Been used since the, 1970s. And as another tool used, by neuroscientists. To try brain structure, and activation. While. Many of the functions of CT, scans are, now done using MRI, CT. Can, still be used as the mode by which brain, activation, and, brain injury, are detected. Using. An x-ray. Researchers, can detect radioactive. Markers, in the brain that indicate, brain activation, as a tool to establish. Relationships, in the brain as well as detect, many injuries, diseases. That can cause lasting. Damage to the brain such, as aneurysms. Degeneration. And cancer. Positron. Emission, tomography pet. Is another, imaging, technology. That aids researchers. Instead. Of using magnetic, resonance or, x-rays, PET scans, rely, on positron. Emitting, markers, that are bound to a biologically. Relevant marker, such as glucose. The. More activation, in the brain the, more that region, requires nutrients. So higher activation, appears. More brightly on an image of the brain, PET. Scans, are becoming more frequently, used by researchers. Because PET, scans are activated, due to metabolism. Whereas, MRI, is activated. On a more, physiological. Basis, sugar, activation. Versus oxygen, activation. Topic. Transcranial. Magnetic. Stimulation. Transcranial. Magnetic, stimulation. TMS. Is essentially. Direct, magnetic, stimulation, to the brain. Because. Electric, currents, and magnetic, fields, are intrinsically, related by, stimulating. The brain with magnetic, pulses, it is possible, to interfere. With specific, loci in the brain to produce a predictable, effect, this. Field, of study is currently, receiving, a large amount, of attention, due to the potential, benefits, that could come out of better understanding this. Technology. Transcranial. Magnetic movement. Of particles in, the brain shows, promise, for drug targeting, and delivery, as studies, have demonstrated this. To be non-invasive. On brain physiology. Topic. Transcranial. Direct, current, stimulation. Transcranial. Direct, current, stimulation. TDCS. Is a form, of neuro stimulation.
Which, Uses, constant, low current, delivered, via electrodes. Placed on the scalp, the. Mechanisms. Underlying, tDCS. Effects. Are still incompletely. Understood but. Recent, advances, in neuro, technology. Allowing, for in vivo assessment, of brain electric, activity, during tDCS. Promise, to advance understanding of, these mechanisms. Research. Into using tDCS. On, healthy, adults have demonstrated. That tDCS. Can, increase cognitive, performance on, a variety of tasks. Depending on the area of the brain being stimulated. TDCS. Has, been used to enhance language, and mathematical. Ability, though one form of tDCS. Was, also, found to inhibit math learning attention. Span, problem-solving. Memory, and coordination. Topic. Cranial. Surface, measurements. Electroencephalography. EGH, is a method, of measuring brainwave, activity. Non-invasively. A number. Of electrodes, are placed around the head and scalp and electrical, signals, are measured. Typically. Iegs are used when dealing with sleep, as there are characteristic. Wave patterns, associated, with, different, stages of sleep. Clinically. Iegs are used to study epilepsy. As well as stroke and tumor presence, in the brain, eggs. Are a different method, to understand, the electrical, signaling, in the brain during activation. Magnetoencephalography. Meg. Is another, method of measuring, activity in, the brain by measuring, the magnetic, fields, that arise from electrical, currents, in the brain, the. Benefit, to using meg instead, of EGH is that these fields are highly, localized and give rise to better, understanding. Of how specific loci, react, to stimulation, or if these regions, over activate, as in epileptic, seizures. Topic. Implant. Technologies. Neuro, devices. Or any devices, used to monitor or regulate, brain activity. Currently. There are a few available for clinical use as a treatment, for Parkinson's disease. The. Most common, nirodha Bice's are deep brain stimulators. DBS. That are used to give electrical, stimulation, to areas, stricken, by inactivity. Parkinson's. Disease, is known to be caused by an inactivation. Of the basal, ganglia nuclei. And recently, DBS. Has become, the more preferred, form of treatment for Parkinson's disease, although. Current, research questions, the efficiency. Of DBS, for movement, disorders, neuromodulation. As a relatively, new field that combines the, use of neuro, devices. And neurochemistry. The. Basis, of this field is that the brain can be regulated. Using a number of different, factors metabolic. Electrical. Stimulation. Physiological. And that all these can be modulated by, devices. Implanted, in the neural network, while. Currently, this field is still in the researcher, phase it represents. A new type of technological. Integration in, the field of neuro technology. The. Brain is a very sensitive, organ, so in addition to researching, the amazing, things that neuromodulation. And implanted, neural devices, can produce it is important, to research ways to create devices that, elicit, as few negative, responses. From the body as possible. This. Can be done by modifying. The material, surface chemistry. Of neural implants. Topic. Cell, therapy. Researchers. Have begun looking at uses, for stem cells in the brain which, recently, have been found in a few low SCI a, large. Number of studies, are being done to determine if, this form of therapy could be used in a large scale. Experiments. Have, successfully. Used stem, cells in the brains of children who, suffered, from injuries, in gestation, and elderly, people with degenerative, diseases, in order to induce the brain to produce new, cells and, to make more connections between neurons. Topic. Pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals. Play a vital role in maintaining stable. Brain, chemistry. And are the most commonly, used neuro, technology. By the general, public and medicine. Drugs. Like sertraline, methylphenidate. And zolpidem, act as chemical, modulators, in the brain and they allow for normal activity in, many people, whose brains cannot, act normally, under physiological conditions. While. Pharmaceuticals. Are usually, not mentioned and have their own field the role of pharmaceuticals. As perhaps the, most far-reaching, and, commonplace in modern society. The focus, on this article, will largely ignore, neuro pharmaceuticals.
For More information. See neuropsychopharmacology. Movement. Of magnetic, particles, to targeted, brain regions, for drug delivery as, an emerging, field of study and causes, no detectable. Circuit, damage. Topic. Low, field, magnetic. Stimulation. Stimulation. With low intensity, magnetic, fields, as currently, under study for depression, at Harvard, Medical School and has previously, been explored. By Bell at all Marino, at all and others. Topic. How these help study, the brain. Magnetic. Resonance imaging. As a vital, tool in neurological. Research in showing activation. In the brain as, well as providing, a comprehensive, image, of the brain being studied. While. MRIs. Are used clinically. For showing, brain size it still, has relevance, in the study of brains, because, it can be used to determine extent, of injuries, or deformation. These. Can have a significant. Effect on personality sense. Perception. Memory higher-order, thinking. Movement, and spatial, understanding. However. Current. Research tends, to focus more so on fMRI, or, real-time functional. MRI. RTFM. RI, these. Two methods, allow the scientist. Or the participant, respectively. To view activation. In the brain, this. Is incredibly, vital in understanding how. A person, thinks, and how their brain reacts, to a person's, environment as, well as understanding. How the brain works under. Various, stressors, or dysfunctions. Real-time. Functional. MRI, as, a revolutionary. Tool available. To neurologists. And neuroscientists, because. Patients can see how their brain reacts, to stressors, and can perceive, visual, feedback. CT. Scans, are very similar, to MRI in, their academic, use because, they can be used to image the brain upon, injury, but they are more limited in perceptual, feedback. CTS. Are generally, used in clinical, studies far more than in academic, studies and are found far more often in a hospital, than a research, facility. PET. Scans, are also finding, more relevance, in academia, because they can be used to observe metabolic. Uptake, of neurons, giving, researchers a wider, perspective about, neural activity, in the brain for a given condition. Combinations. Of these methods, can provide researchers. With knowledge, of both physiological. And metabolic behaviors. Of low SCI in the brain and can be used to explain, activation. And deactivation of. Parts of the brain under, specific conditions. Transcranial. Magnetic, stimulation.
As A relatively, new method, of studying, how the brain functions and. Is used in many research, labs focused. On behavioral disorders. And hallucinations. What. Makes TMS. Research, so interesting. In the neuroscience. Community is, that it can target specific regions. Of the brain and shut them down or activate, temporarily, thereby, changing, the way the brain behaves. Personality. Disorders, can stem from a variety of external, factors, but when the disorder, stems from the circuitry, of the brain TMS. Can be used to deactivate the, circuitry. This. Can give rise to a number of responses. Ranging, from normality, to, something, more unexpected, but current, research is based on the theory that use of TMS, could radically, change treatment. And perhaps act, as a cure for personality. Disorders and hallucinations. Currently. Repetitive. Transcranial, magnetic, stimulation. Our TMS. Is being researched, to see if this deactivation. Effect can be made more permanent, in patients, suffering from these disorders. Some. Techniques, combine, TMS, and another scanning, method such as egh to get additional information. About brain activities. Such as cortical. Response both, egh and Meg are currently, being used to study the brains activity, under, different conditions. Each. Uses, similar principles. But allows researchers to, examine individual. Regions, of the brain allowing. Isolation. And potentially, specific, classification. Of active regions, as, mentioned. Above each, is very useful, in analysis, of immobile patients, typically, during, the sleep cycle, while. There are other types of research that utilize. E egh has been fundamental. In understanding. The resting, brain during, sleep, there. Are other potential, uses for Egan, Meg such as charting, rehabilitation. And improvement, after trauma as well as testing, neural conductivity, in specific, regions of epileptics. Or patients, with personality. Disorders. Neuromodulation. Can, involve numerous technologies, combined. Or used independently, to, achieve a desired, effect in the brain. Gene. And cell therapy, are becoming more prevalent in research, and clinical trials and, these technologies. Could help stunt or even reverse disease, progression, in the central, nervous system. Deep. Brain stimulation. Is currently, used in many patients, with movement disorders and. Is used to improve the quality of life in patients. While. Deep brain stimulation. As a method, to study how the brain functions per. Se it provides, both surgeons, and neurologists. Important, information. About how the brain works when. Certain small regions, of the basal, ganglia nuclei. Are stimulated. By electrical. Currents. Topic. Future. Technologies. The, future, of neuro technologies. Lies in how they are fundamentally. Applied and not so much on what new versions, will be developed. Current. Technologies. Give a large amount, of insight into the mind and how the brain functions but. Basic, research is still needed to demonstrate the, more applied functions, of these technologies. Currently. RT. FMRI, is being, researched, as a method, for pain therapy. -. Arms, at all have shown that there is a significant. Improvement in the way people perceive pain. If they are made aware of how their brain is functioning while, in pain, by. Providing, direct, and understandable. Feedback, researchers. Can help patients with chronic, pain decrease. Their symptoms. This. New type of, biomechanical. Feedback, is a new development, in pain therapy. Functional. MRI, is also, being considered, for a number of more applicable, uses, outside of the clinic. Research. Has been done on testing. The efficiency. Of mapping, the brain in the case when, someone lies as a new way to detect, lying. Along. The same vein EGH has been considered, for use in lie detection, as well. TMS. Is being used in a variety of potential, therapies, for patients with, personality. Disorders, epilepsy. PTSD. Migraine. And other brain, firing disorders. But has been found to have varying, clinical, success for, each condition. The. End result, of such research would be to develop a method to alter the brains perception, and firing, and train patient's brains to rewire permanently. Under inhibiting. Conditions, for more information. See our TMS. In. Addition. PET scans, have been found to be 93, percent accurate, in detecting, Alzheimer's. Disease, nearly, three years before conventional. Diagnosis. Indicating. That PET scanning is becoming, more useful, in both the laboratory, and the clinic stem cell technologies. Are always, salient, both in the minds of the general, public and scientists. Because of their large potential. Recent.
Advances, In stem cell research. Have allowed researchers to, ethically, pursue, studies in nearly, every facet of the body which includes, the brain. Research. Has shown that while most of the brain does not regenerate, and as typically, a very difficult environment to, foster regeneration. There are portions of the brain with regenerative, capabilities. Specifically. The hippocampus. And the olfactory, bulbs. Much. Of the research in central. Nervous system, regeneration. As, how to overcome, this poor regenerative. Quality, of the brain it is. Important. To note that there are therapies, that improve, cognition, and increase the amount of neural, pathways but this does not mean that there, is a proliferation, of, neural, cells in the brain, rather. It is called a plastic, rewiring, of the brain plastic, because it indicates malleability. And is considered, a vital, part of growth, nevertheless. Many. Problems, in patients stem, from death of neurons in, the brain and researchers. In the field are, striving to produce technologies. That enable regeneration. In patients, with stroke Parkinson's, diseases. Severe, trauma and Alzheimer's. Disease as well as many others. While. Still in fledgling, stages, of development, researchers. Have recently begun making very, interesting. Progress, in attempting, to treat these diseases. Researchers. Have recently successfully. Produced, dopaminergic, neurons. For transplant, in patients, with Parkinson's, diseases, with the hopes that they will be able to move again with a more steady supply, of dopamine. Many. Researchers. Are building, scaffolds that, could be transplanted. Into a patient, with spinal, cord trauma to present, an environment. That promotes growth, of axons, portions. Of the cell attributed. With transmission. Of electrical, signals so that patients, unable to move or feel might be able to do so again. The potentials. Are wide-ranging. But it is important, to note that many, of these therapies, are still in the laboratory, phase and, are slowly being adapted. In the clinic, some. Scientists. Remain skeptical. With the development, of the field and warn that there is a much larger chance, that electrical, prosthesis, will, be developed, to solve clinical, problems, such as hearing, loss or paralysis before. Cell therapy, as used in a clinic novel, drug delivery systems. Are being researched, in order to improve the lives of those who struggle, with brain, disorders, that might not be treated, with stem cells, modulation. Or rehabilitation. Pharmaceuticals. Play a very, important, role in society, and the brain has a very, selective, barrier, that prevents, some drugs from going from the blood to the brain, there. Are some diseases of the brain such, as meningitis that, require, doctors to directly. Inject, medicine into the spinal cord because, the drug cannot, cross the blood-brain, barrier. Research. Is being conducted to, investigate new. Methods, of targeting, the brain using, the blood supply as it is much easier to, inject, into the blood than the spine, new. Technologies. Such as nanotechnology, are. Being researched, for selective, drug delivery, but these technologies. Have problems, as with any other, one. Of the major setback, says that when a particle is too large the, patient's, liver will take up the particle, and degrade it for excretion but if the particle is too small there will not be enough, drug in the particle, to take effect. In addition, the size of the capillary, pore is important, because too large a particle, might not fit or even plug up the hole preventing. Adequate supply, of the drug to the brain, other. Research, has involved, in integrating a protein, device between, the layers to create a free-flowing, gate that is unimpeded, by the limitations. Of the body. Another. Direction, as receptor, mediated transport. Where, receptors, in the brain used, to transport, nutrients. Are manipulated. To transport, drugs across, the blood-brain, barrier. Some. Have even suggested, that, focused, ultrasound opens. The blood-brain, barrier momentarily. And allows free, passage, of chemicals, into the brain. Ultimately. The goal for drug delivery as, to develop a method that maximizes. The amount of drug in the low sigh with as little degraded. In the bloodstream as, possible. Neuromodulation. As a technology. Currently, used for patients, with movement disorders, although, research, is currently being done to apply this technology. To other disorders. Recently. A study was, done on if DBS. Could improve depression, with positive, results, indicating. That this technology, might, have potential, as a therapy, for multiple. Disorders in the brain.
DBS. Is limited, by its high cost however, and in developing, countries, the availability, of DBS. Has very, limited a new. Version of DBS, is under investigation and. Has developed, into the novel field up to genetics. Up. To genetics, as the combination, of deep brain stimulation. With, fiber optics, and gene therapy. Essentially. The fiber optic, cables, are designed, to light up under electrical. Stimulation, and a protein, would be added to a neuron, via gene therapy, too excited, under light stimuli. So. By combining these three independent fields. A surgeon, could excite a single, and specific, neuron in order to help treat a patient with some disorder. Neuromodulation. Offers, a wide degree of therapy, for many patients but. To the nature of the disorders, it is currently, used to treat its effects, are often temporary. Future. Goals in the field hope to alleviate, that problem, by, increasing, the years of effect until, DBS. Can be used for the remainder, of the patient's, life, another. Use for neuromodulation. Would, be in building, neural, interface, prosthetic, devices, that, would allow quadriplegics. The ability, to maneuver a cursor, on a screen with, their thoughts thereby, increasing. Their ability to interact with others around them, by. Understanding the, motor cortex, and understanding. How the brain signals, motion. It is possible, to emulate, this response, on a computer, screen. Topic. Ethics. You. You. Topic. Stem, cells. The, ethical, debate about use of embryonic, stem, cells has, stirred controversy both. In the United, States and abroad although, more recently, these debates, have lessened, due to modern advances, in creating, induced, pluripotent, stem, cells, from adult, cells. The. Greatest advantage, for use of embryonic stem, cells as the fact that they can differentiate, become. Nearly, any type of cell provided, the right conditions, and signals. However. Recent. Advances, by Shinya Yamanaka at. All have found ways to create, pluripotent. Cells without, the use of such, controversial. Cell, cultures. Using. The patient's, own cells and, read if ur n Chi a ting them into the desired cell type bypasses.
Both Possible, patient, rejection, of the embryonic, stem, cells and any ethical, concerns, associated. With using them while also providing, researchers. A larger, supply of available cells. However. Induced. Pluripotent, cells. Have the potential to form benign, though potentially malignant. Tumors, and tend to have poor survivability. In, vivo, in the living body on damaged. Tissue. Much. Of the ethics concerning, use of stem cells has, subsided, from, the embryonic, adult, stem cell debate, due to its rendered, moot but now societies. Find, themselves, debating. Whether or not this technology. Can be ethically, used. Enhancement. Of traits use of animals, for tissue scaffolding. And even, arguments, for moral degeneration. Have, been made with the fears that if this technology, reaches. Its full potential, a new paradigm, shift will occur in human behavior. Topic. Military. Application. New, neuro technologies. Have always garnered. The appeal of governments. From lie detection, technology. And virtual, reality to, rehabilitation and. Understanding. The psyche, due. To the Iraq war and, war on terror American. Soldiers, coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, are reported, to have percentages. Up to 12%, with, PTSD. There. Are many researchers, hoping, to improve these people's, conditions, by implementing, new strategies, for recovery. By. Combining, pharmaceuticals. And neuro technologies. Some, researchers, have discovered ways, of lowering the fear. Response. And, theorized, that it may be applicable, to PTSD. Virtual. Reality, as another technology, that has drawn much attention, in the military, if. Improved. It could be possible, to train soldiers how, to deal with complex, situations. In times of peace in order to better prepare and, train a modern, army. Topic. Privacy. Finally. When these technologies. Are being developed society. Must understand. That these neuro technologies. Could reveal the one thing that people can always keep secret, what they are thinking. While. There are large amounts of benefits, associated with, these technologies, it, is necessary, for scientists, citizens. And policymakers. Alike, to consider, implications. For privacy. This. Term, is important, in many ethical circles. Concerned, with the state and goals of progress, in the field of neuro technology. See neuroethics. Current. Improvements. Such as brain, fingerprinting or, lie detection, using, egor fMRI, could, give rise to a set fixture, of low sigh emotional. Relationships. In the brain although, these technologies. Are still years away from full, application. It is. Important, to consider, how all these neuro technologies. Might affect the future of society, and it is suggested that political, scientific. And civil, debates are heard about the implementation of, these newer technologies that. Potentially. Offer a new wealth of once private, information. Some. Ethicists. Are also concerned. With the use of TMS. And fear that the technique, could be used to alter patients, in ways that are undesired, by the patient. Topic. Cognitive. Liberty. Cognitive. Liberty refers, to a suggested. Right to self-determination, of.
Individuals. To control their own mental processes. Cognition. And consciousness. Including, by the use of various, neuro technologies. And psychoactive. Substances. This. Perceived, right is relevant, for Reformation and, development, of associated. Laws. Topic. See, also. Neuroscience. Neuro. Engineering. Equals, equals, footnotes.
2019-01-17