• Question: how can technology afeect are brain and is it a vital resource for further research in the future

    Asked by pigeonhunter5000 to Ben, James, Jen, Michael, Susanna on 11 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Jen Todd Jones

      Jen Todd Jones answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      The best thing I can think of related to this is helping people with paralysis use their mind to control and computer and mobile devices around them. Using electroencephalography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography) a machine can learn that when a person (who is completely physically paralysed otherwise) thinks about, for example, looking up, it means they want their mobile scooter to move forward. Or when they think about moving their left hand it means they want to write the word “Yes” on a computer screen. By using EEG that works out where in the brain thoughts occur, we can use that to train a machine to associate that thought with a command or function on a computer. It’s pretty neat and helps people who would otherwise be trapped in bed being fed through a tube with no way to communicate with that outside world! This is called locked-in syndrome where a person is conscious and the brain is working but the rest of their body doesn’t work (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked-in_syndrome).

      There is also very modern science that implants tiny machines deep inside peoples brains to help them walk around, and even to make them feel better if they have depression – it’s called deep-brain stimulation. At the moment it is very rare to have this treatment because of the risks associated with brain surgery, but it’s increasing all the time and soon we might even have little wireless packs we carry with us that can zap our brain deep inside to make us happier, or perk up our attention!

    • Photo: James Stovold

      James Stovold answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      Hi pigeonhunter5000,

      Technology can be used to interface with our brain, in such a way that computers and robotic arms/legs etc. can be controlled just by thinking. In my opinion, there are other areas that technology has had a much bigger impact on brain research, and will continue to be a vital resource, and that area is simulation. The idea of simulation is that, instead of testing our theories on real brains in live animals, we build a computer program that works in a very similar way to that part of the brain, and we test our theories on the computer instead. Obviously the theories need to be tested on animals eventually, but by using simulations first we can test many more theories to see which ones need to be put into the lab, instead of having to test all our theories on animals directly (which is both very expensive and also involves killing quite a few animals!). This is an idea that has recently been applied to the immune system and drug development, and I’m hoping that it will start to be applied to brain research within the next few years.

      James

    • Photo: Susanna Martin

      Susanna Martin answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      In a completely different way technology can help our brain by helping us learn. Technology can help us explore areas that we couldn’t normally see, for instance we can use telescopes to see into space, and microscopes to see cells of the body. Without technology we wouldn’t be able to learn about these things. We can also use technology to explain things to each other (like we’ve been doing here!). For instance a lot of researchers talk to each other using skype and twitter this allows people across the world to collaborate and share ideas without needing to leave their office, this is good as it can save time and help the environment (as people don’t need to travel so much!). So yes technology can affect the brain directly like Jen and James have mentioned, but it can also support the brain in it’s normal everyday functioning so yes I think technology is vital for the future.

Comments