Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: neuroscience

Just a few doses of an experimental drug can reverse age-related declines in memory and mental flexibility in mice, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists. The drug, called ISRIB, has already been shown in laboratory studies to restore memory function months after traumatic brain injury (TBI), reverse cognitive impairments in Down Syndrome, prevent noise-related hearing loss, fight certain types of prostate cancer, and even enhance cognition in healthy animals.

In the new study, published Dec. 1, 2020, in the open-access journal eLife, researchers showed rapid restoration of youthful cognitive abilities in aged mice, accompanied by a rejuvenation of brain and immune cells that could help explain improvements in brain function.

“ISRIB’s extremely rapid effects show for the first time that a significant component of age-related cognitive losses may be caused by a kind of reversible physiological “blockage” rather than more permanent degradation,” said Susanna Rosi, PhD, Lewis and Ruth Cozen Chair II and professor in the departments of Neurological Surgery and of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science.

Read more | >

Ineurals — advanced neuro-technologies for rapid learning and skill acquisition.

The 711th Human Performance Wing, under the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory leads the development, integration, and delivery of Airman-centric research, education, and consultation enabling the U.S. Air Force to achieve responsive and effective global vigilance, global reach, and global power now and in the future. It’s comprised of the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and the Airman Systems Directorate, whose science and technology competencies include Training, Adaptive Warfighter Interfaces, Bioeffects, Bioengineering, and Aerospace and Operational Medicine.

The Individualized Neural Learning System, or iNeuraLS, is a new augmented learning platform that will enable rapid learning by closed-loop modulation of cognitive states during skill acquisition. Essentially, the AFRL team seeks to develop a capability that will give Airmen the ability to rapidly acquire knowledge and skills on the fly through direct brain interfaces with the help of neurotechnologies.

And we have not 1, but 2 fascinating guests on the show with us today:

Dr. Nathaniel Bridges serves as the Neural Interfaces Team Lead within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Cognitive Neuroscience Section. In this role, he and his team seek to find and enable ways to link the human brain/nervous system with technology in a manner that will benefit the Air Force. This in part relies on testing and evaluating current and emerging Brain Machine/Computer Interface technologies for the Air Force and investigating the impact of various neuromodulation technologies on cognitive performance. Dr. Bridges has his PhD. in Biomedical Engineering, from Drexel University, in Philadelphia, PA USA.

Dr. Gaurav Sharma, a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, is the Senior Scientist for Cognitive Neuroscience, 711th Human Performance Wing. He serves as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher in the field of cognitive neuroscience and is in charge of initiating, planning, coordinating, evaluating and conducting research and development that increases the Air Force capabilities relative to this critical technological area. Dr. Sharma has his PhD. in Mechanical Engineering, from Northeastern University, in Boston, MA, USA.

Read more | >

Exploring the frontiers of neuromodulation, neurostimulation, and neural interfaces.

Neuromodulation is defined as “the alteration of nerve activity through targeted delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation or chemical agents, to specific neurological sites in the body”. It is carried out to normalize – or modulate – nervous tissue function.

Neuromodulation is an evolving therapy that can involve a range of electromagnetic stimuli such as a magnetic field, an electric current, or a drug instilled directly in the sub-dural space (i.e. intra-thecal drug delivery).

Emerging applications involve targeted introduction of genes or gene regulators and light (optogenetics), but most clinical experience has been with electrical stimulation.

Existing and emerging neuromodulation treatments also include application in medication-resistant epilepsy, chronic head pain conditions, and functional therapy ranging from bladder and bowel or respiratory control, to improvement of sensory deficits, such as hearing and vision.

Neuromodulation therapy has been investigated for other chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, chronic pain, and as an adjunctive treatment in recovery from stroke.

Dr. Amílcar dos Santos, is a practicing Psychiatrist at the Psychiatry Service of Hospital Vila Franca de Xira, in Lisbon, Portugal, with expertise in Neuromodulation / Neurostimulation, Hospitalization of acute patients, Psychiatric Emergency Service, Outpatient Psychiatry, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and Psychoeducation for Bipolar Disease.

Dr. dos Santos has a Degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) and Post-Graduate in Neuroscience at FMUL.

Read more | >

A team of scientists has now found a way to create a clear image from scattered infrared light emitted from a laser, even after it’s passed through a thick layer of bone.

‘Our microscope allows us to investigate fine internal structures deep within living tissues that cannot be resolved by any other means,’ said physicists Seokchan Yoon and Hojun Lee from Korea University.

Seeing what the heck is going on inside of us is useful for many aspects of modern medicine. But how to do this without slicing and dicing through barriers like flesh and bone to observe living intact tissues, like our brains, is a tricky thing to do.

Thick, inconsistent structures like bone will scatter light unpredictably, making it difficult to figure out what’s going on behind them. And the deeper you wish to see, the more scattered light obscures fine and fragile biological structure.

There are plenty of options for researchers who are keen to watch living tissues do their thing, using clever optical tricks to turn scattered photons moving at certain frequencies into an image. But by risking tissue damage or operating only at shallow depths, they all have drawbacks.

Read more | >

Simulations that model molecular interactions have identified an enzyme that could be targeted to reverse a called cellular senescence. The findings were validated with laboratory experiments on and equivalent tissues, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

“Our research opens the door for a new generation that perceives aging as a reversible biological phenomenon,” says Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who led the research with colleagues from KAIST and Amorepacific Corporation in Korea.

Cells respond to a variety of factors, such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, and shortening of the telomeres capping the ends of chromosomes, by entering a stable and persistent exit from the . This process, called cellular senescence, is important, as it prevents damaged from proliferating and turning into . But it is also a natural process that contributes to aging and . Recent research has shown that cellular senescence can be reversed. But the laboratory approaches used thus far also impair tissue regeneration or have the potential to trigger malignant transformations.

Read more | >