Artwatch: Memory Helmet by Seungjoo Lee

Protection is the fundamental purpose of the helmet. This helmet, a conceptual design project by Seungjoo Lee, enables the storage and protection of memories.
From www.seungjoolee.com.

Raja Parasuraman Discusses Neuroergonomics

Raja Parasuraman calls neuroergonomics "the merger of neuroscience, the study of the brain, with ergonomics, the study of how to design systems and technologies to be more compatible with what we know about human capabilities and limitations." Full story here.

Google Your Way To Better Brain Health

UCLA find that in older adults, googling and surfing the internet stimulates and may actually improve brain health. "The researchers noted that compared with reading, the Internet’s wealth of choices requires that people make decisions about what to click on, an activity that engages important cognitive circuits in the brain." Full story here.

Researchers Seek To Map The Connectome

The Economist explores the concept of the connectome and the push to map it:

For, just as every organism has a genome (the complete set of its genes, as encoded in its DNA), every organism with a nervous system has a connectome (the complete set of its nerve cells and the connections between them). In practice, of course, a connectome will change over the course of time as new connections form and old ones die. But that does not stop people like Dr Lichtman dreaming of a Human Connectome Project inspired by the success of the Human Genome Project.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless (Rat) Mind

The New York Times reports that researchers in Brooklyn are opening the door to editing brain memory. The process, performed successfully on rates, has potential for both erasing and strengthening memories.

Honda's Asimo Controlled By Thought Alone (Crocs Not Necessary)

Researchers fitted with a brain machine interface have successfully controlled the movements of the superstar robot Asimo through thought alone. The process isn't ready for public display however. Honda says that getting the human participants to avoid distractions is still and challenge and that each person's brainwaves are so different the calibration process takes several hours. Once these obstacles are overcome, the Asimo technology could become very useful for the elderly or disabled.

The Next Frontier For Pain Relief

Microtransponder aims to develop a wireless neurostimulation system for the treatment of chronic pain and several other neurological indications. The minimally invasive device will provide relief from chronic pain without requiring an implanted battery or wires. They have received the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and three separate NIH SBIR grants.

Brain-Training Video Games Under Fire

From the Guardian's Science section: People who spend money on "brain trainers" to keep their minds agile may get the same results by simply doing a crossword or surfing the internet, according to research published today.

Jaguar Fast On Roadrunner's Tail, Both Smash Petaflop Barrier

I love that IBM named its newest supercomputer "Roadrunner" (mentioned in a July post). I also like how the good people at Cray have airbrushed a sweet design down the side of their massive Jaguar computing system. In November both the Roadrunner and Jaguar smashed the petaflop barrier (1,000,000,000,000,000 calculations every second) with Roadrunner clocking in just faster than Jaguar (1.105 vs. 1.059 quadrillion calculations per second). Researchers are excited about the accomplishment, saying that these supercomputers are literally creating an opportunity for simulation as a third branch of science. The power of these computers to simulate nature simply can't be ignored they say, and the scientific method must be revised to grant simulation a more important role.
On another note, according to the Wired article, Raymond Kurzweil believes the human brain has a power of 10 petaflops. By Kurzweil's reckoning, we should equal the human brain's calculating power in less than 7 years.

Teen Males And Fish: A Winning Combination

A new study coming out of Sweden titled, "Fish intake of Swedish male adolescents is a predictor of cognitive performance,"  tracks participants from age 15 to 18 and finds that the more fish eaten, the higher the scores on verbal, visuospatial, and overall intelligence tests.  You may be wondering, "Will fish sticks do the trick, or do you have to eat high quality salmon?"  The researchers plan to follow up by with studies to answer this very question.

Neuroengineering Holds Potential For New Age Of Enlightenment

"Metaphorically, the neuroengineering approach brings the study of the brain into the Age of Enlightenment. By isolating, then testing and altering individual parts of the neural system, we can, for the first time, truly understand what those components do. Ultimately, we can enhance an individual function while leaving the rest of the system untouched. It's the same transition that let us move from alchemy to atomic physics."

Read the 2 part (1, 2) report at wired.

The Universe In 2009

The best ideas that give us reason for optimism in 09.

Music That Boosts Your Brain Power

Check out imusic for a sample (and an interesting explanation) of the doctor-approved music they say can work wonders for the brain.

New Mind Control Games Teach You To Use "The Force"

The good people at Neurosky have collaborated with Uncle Milton games to create a revolutionary new game called Force Trainer, out this fall (USA Today article here). The game comes with a simple headset that monitors brainwave activity. As you learn to concentrate and control your brain wave activity you gain greater control over a small ball that moves through a Star Wars themed gaming device.
The game, which will no doubt be a blast just from its novelty alone, will be one of the first mass-market games to utilize EEG technology. There's no telling where this paradigm will take us or if it will have long term effects on a child's ability to concentrate. Could the Force Trainer or something like it (a similar game by Mattel is due out) actually help distracted individuals learn to become more focused thinkers?

"Thought Identification" Featured On 60 Minutes

We previewed this exciting new technology in December in a post called: "Scientists Extract Images Directly From The Brain." Now the concept is receiving major network attention in a 60 minutes story.

The Brainy Blogosphere

It seems like every new year brings an ever-greater enthusiasm for the inevitable 'best-of-the-year' lists. What better way to kick off the new year that by exploring the 2008 highlights from the brain science podcast. Or rediscover some of the best podcasts of the year at the always entertaining Radiolab.

CNET's 5 Technology Predictions For 2009

CNET's top 5 predictions for the new year include:

5  The decline of portable GPS

4  Mind control video games go commercial!!

3  Devices with Google's Android operating system will outsell the iphone

2  Bandwidth riots 

1  Biggest security breach ever

Check out the video explanations here.

The Big Business Of Memory and Cognitive Enhancement

An aging population, an economy built on ideas, increasing competition at top high schools and universities…there’s no shortage of explanations for why cognitive and memory enhancement is poised to grow into a massive industry. Who wouldn’t want to feel smarter, sharper, and more on the ball? As an already medicated society, we’re collectively making as shift from “making the sick healthy” to “protecting and enhancing the already healthy.”
Today you can look treat yourself to various natural enhancement options. Start with a nice cup of tea, as the University of Newcastle Plant Research Center has found that both black and green tea can improve memory and prevent Alzheimer’s. Still thirsty? Try a Brainiac, the hip, functional beverage enhanced with “soy phosphatidylserine (PS), ginkgo biloba, and other powerful antioxidants at the forefront of brain science.”
Once you’re thoroughly hydrated the Brain Fitness Program DVD by PBS offers a “scientifically-based set of brain exercises” to improve memory and a range of cognitive functions.
If all else fails, just go for a run or play a game of football. Among neuroscientists, physical exercise is viewed as the ultimate cognitive enhancer (certainly the most effective): “fitness training slows the age-related shrinkage of the frontal cortex, which is important for executive function. In rodents, exercise increases the number of capillaries in the brain, which should improve blood flow, and therefore the availability of energy, to neurons. Exercise may also help the brain by improving cardiovascular health, preventing heart attacks and strokes that can cause brain damage. Finally, exercise causes the release of growth factors, proteins that increase the number of connections between neurons, and the birth of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory" (from the NYtimes).

Scientists Extract Images Directly From Brain

Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have developed a breakthrough process of analyzing changes in a participants cerebral blood flow to reconstruct and display viewed images. This breakthrough process of extracting images directly from the brain has so far been used only with black letters on a white background. However, researchers say that as the technology improves and the computer program learns to associate nuanced cerebral states with complex mental images, we could, within, the decade learn to extract these complex images directly from patients' brains. Full story at the pink tentacle.

H.M., Famous Amnesia Patient, Dies At 82

The story of H.M. has been indispensable for psychology and neuroscience researchers, and undeniably fascinating to the public at large and the many students who read about him in textbooks.

Lacking the ability to make new memories after a operation to ameliorate epileptic seizures, H.M. (or Henry Gustav Molaison) left a massive legacy in brain science not only because of his physical condition, but also because of the kindness and incredible cooperation he showed to the researchers whom became his friend. Although he could only retain new memories for 20 seconds, his willingness to share all we could remember helped scientists uncover the integral role of the hippocampos and the important disctinction between implicit and explicit memory.

Full story here.