Hallucinations are spooky and, fortunately, fairly rare. But, a new study suggests, the real question isn’t so much why some people occasionally experience them. It’s why all of us aren’t hallucinating all the time.
In the study, Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists stimulated nerve cells in the visual cortex of mice to induce an illusory image in the animals’ minds. The scientists needed to stimulate a surprisingly small number of nerve cells, or neurons, in order to generate the perception, which caused the mice to behave in a particular way.
“Back in 2012, we had described the ability to control the activity of individually selected neurons in an awake, alert animal,” said Karl Deisseroth, MD, Ph.D., professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “Now, for the first time, we’ve been able to advance this capability to control multiple individually specified cells at once, and make an animal perceive something specific that in fact is not really there—and behave accordingly.”
Dr. Wim Melis from the University of Greenwich is working on deconstructing and reconstructing audio signals with extremely high accuracy.
Audio is captured and, from there, converted into a spiking signal—the type the brain uses. This is then fed into the brain and reconstructed as a 90–100 percent replica of the original sound.
Current technologies, known as cochlear implants, only achieve a fraction of this. They do the work of damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain, whereas hearing aids make sounds louder.
The three-hour event was part marketing spectacle and part dry technical explainer. Musk and his team members described the brain-machine interface design they’re betting on, which will employ dozens of thin wires to collect signals in the brain, and which they want to try out on paralyzed people soon, so they can type with their minds. Their eventual aim is to connect those wires to a thought transmitter which tucks behind your ear like a hearing aid.
Well, it’s pretty cool. It seemed like maybe it will work the way they want down the road, but it probably doesn’t work that way now. A couple of years ago, when I heard he was working with a neural interface, I said I would be there in a heartbeat. I was joking, but it’s interesting to think about what I am going to do when I get explanted. I am coming up on my five years. Then the FDA says my implants may have to come out. Neuralink talked about longevity of the implant and also a large number of electrodes. I always say I wish they had put more electrodes into me.
Basically, the more electrodes you have, the more neurons you record from, so I would imagine higher-degree tasks would be easier. I am limited to thinking about my right arm and hand. I thought it would be good to have more control. I always want to play more video games.
I was going to school at Penn State, Fayette, for nanofabrication, so I didn’t have a job, I was in school.
Pohoiki Beach appears to be step two of Intel’s process-architecture-optimization development model. Step three, a larger integration of Loihi chips to be called Pohoiki Springs, is scheduled to debut later this year. Neuromorphic design is still in a research phase, but this and similar projects from competitors such as IBM and Samsung should break ground for eventual commoditization and commercial use.
The new Pohoiki Beach builds on the 2017 success of Intel’s Loihi NPU.
Scientists believe even moderate amounts of exercise can slow cognitive decline in people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
A study published in the journal JAMA Neurology found a total of around 8,900 steps per day appeared to slow rates of cognitive decline and brain volume loss in people who were at high risk. The individuals were considered at risk because of the levels of amyloid beta—a protein thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s— in their brain.
Dr. Jasmeer Chhatwal, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the research, told Newsweek: “These results suggest that very achievable levels of physical activity may be protective in those at high risk of cognitive decline and that this effect can be augmented further by lowering vascular risk.” Vascular risk factors include high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, he explained.
My mission is to drastically improve your life by helping you break bad habits, build and keep new healthy habits to make you the best version of yourself. I read the books and do all the research and share my findings with you!
This video is an interview of Dr. Aubrey de Grey @ SENS on July 17, 2019. My wife, Lauren Nally, was our camerawoman.
- Please consider a donation so I can continue to keep my YouTube ads off: My Bitcoin Cash (BCH) address: qr9gcfv92pzwfwa5hj9sqk3ptcnr5jss2g78n7w6f2 or https://www.paypal.me/BrentNally - Please consider a donation to SENS: https://www.sens.org/
SHOW NOTES:
- Aubrey’s wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey - SENS wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SENS_Research_Foundation - like & follow SENS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sensf/?ref=br_rs - subscribe to Undoing Aging’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAwxbQhlE6qcTXmKcxkaCGA/videos - follow Aubrey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aubreydegrey - follow SENS on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senstweet - follow Aubrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubrey-de-grey-24260b/ - follow SENS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sensresearchfoundation/ 0:55 Type “Aubrey de Grey” into YouTube for lots of his lectures & interviews. 1:50 Update on the state of the anti-aging industry & explosion of private sector interest. 5:05 Intro for Aubrey 5:35 My May 30, 2019 interview with Sierra Sciences CEO Dr. Bill Andrews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx9yG6iTROQ 6:25 diversity of messaging in anti-aging is increasing. 7:10 My July 10, 2019 interview with BioViva CEO Liz Parrish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBFTwGPaPr4 8:28 Aubrey shares his updated thoughts on the role of telomerase in cancer in humans. 12:00 Liz had here telomeres tested by SpectraCell Laboratories: https://www.spectracell.com/clinicians/products/telomere-testing/ & LifeLength: https://lifelength.com/ 14:10 there has recently been more testing on humans in the field of the biology of aging. 15:44 It’s obvious to Aubrey & I that aging is a big problem but most people still don’t understand this. 18:40 profound difference between how scientists & technologists think. 22:11 Watch the documentary “The Immortalists” about Dr. Aubrey de Grey & Dr. Bill Andrews: https://www.theimmortalists.com/watch/? 22:58 updates on anti-aging investments & research projects. 30:01 stem cell therapy is intended to repair cell loss. 30:50: we have a massive funding problem to reverse human aging. 32:53 we must educate the public that aging is causing 100,000 deaths per day and funding biological age reversal research can change this. 36:52 Is human aging a disease? 44:10 FDA progress to treat age-related diseases/conditions. 47:38 World Health Organization ICD code progress to treat age-related diseases/conditions. 50:02 Trans-NIH Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) 54:40 “triangular log jam” of funding with governments, scientists and public opinion. 56:30 Aubrey shares why SENS still exists. 1:00:38 Ethereum cryptocurrency founder Vitalik Buterin & other SENS donors. 1:01:55 Undoing Aging is a conference held every spring in Berlin, Germany. 1:04:53 July 2019 is Aubrey’s 2-year anniversary at AgeX as the VP of New Technology Discovery. 1:08:44 Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to Unity Biotechnology, Inc. (not Human Longevity Inc.) in 2018. 1:11:02 (Larry) Ellison Medical Foundation failure in reversing human aging. 1:14:15 Google co-founders creating Calico rather than investing in or donating to SENS 1:21: Aubrey shares details about his lifestyle as well as his recommendations for a healthy lifestyle. 1:24:25 Aubrey looks up to the longevity “foot soldiers“ 1:28:42 do what you love as much as you can to avoid excess mental, physical and emotional stress. 1:30:40 Aubrey is following all longevity therapies to determine their safety & effectiveness. 1:32:20 my stem cells story & Aubrey’s feedback. 1:34:58 EmCell in Kyiv, Ukraine is the only company doing fetal stem cells therapy. 1:39:20 exosomes 1:41:00 I’ve had no reply from Ambrosia founder Jesse Karmazin since October 2018. 1:42:51 My March 26, 2019 interview with Dr. Ed Park at Recharge Biomedical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHgfYKsH0uw&list=UUCwpkla04tVxHJUds2J2aqA&index=6 1:44:31 NAD+ 1:47:39 gene therapy 1:53:37 please network on the internet & in person with other longevity enthusiasts to help grow this movement faster. 1:58:48 mitochondria 2:00:48 long lived animals 2:01:49 consider a donation to SENS
Scientists have produced what looks to be the most detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan ever taken of the human brain anatomy, and are sharing their data with the public.
Thanks to an anonymous deceased patient whose brain was donated to science – and a gargantuan 100 hours of scanning with one of the most advanced MRI machines – the world now has an unprecedented view of the structures that make thought itself possible.
In a new study led by neuroimaging scientist Brian L. Edlow from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers describe how they recorded their ultra-high resolution MRI dataset of the ex vivo specimen, offering a never-before-seen view of the “three-dimensional neuroanatomy of the human brain”.
A newly discovered type of stem cell could help brains repair themselves from injury or even debilitating diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to the latest research.
Called the “G2 quiescent stem cell”, it’s one of several ‘sleeping’ (or quiescent) stem cells in the brain.
But this one is showing more potential for regeneration than the others have so far. Like other stem cells, it can produce cells of all different types on demand – whatever the body needs.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s startup that’s trying to directly link brains and computers, has developed a system to feed thousands of electrical probes into a brain and hopes to start testing the technology on humans in in 2020, Chief Executive Elon Musk revealed Tuesday. And it’s working already in animal tests. “A monkey has been able to control a computer with his brain,” Musk said at a San Francisco Click on photo to start video.
&feature=youtu.behttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.mozilla.org%2Fen-US%2Ffirefox%2F70.0a1%2Fwhatsnew%2F%3Foldversion%3D69.0a1” target=“_blank” data-component=“externalLink” rel=“noopener”>livestreaming the presentation on YouTube Tuesday, revealing even more research results than the company’s scientists expected.
Neuralink’s initial goal is to help people deal with brain and spinal cord injuries or congenital defects, Musk said. The technology could help paraplegics who have lost the ability to move or sense because of spinal cord injury — a medical treatment that’s a lot less shocking than radical sci-fi ideas like “consensual telepathy.”
