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Posted Friday, March 14, 2003
What About Mental Health Expectancy? Life expectancy just topped 77 Years in the US. This should be no surprise. For over 150 years life expectancy has continued to rise at the steady pace of an additional 3 months per year. Living physically longer does not mean living in better mental health. Mental health expectancy is the number of years that an individual can successfully perform mental functions, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships, and the ability to cope with adversity. Five of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide (major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, alcohol use and obsessive compulsive disorders) are mental problems. They are as relevant in developing countries as they are in rich ones, and all predictions are that there will be a dramatic increase in mental problems in the coming years. Developing tools to help solve these problems will be a major focus of neurotechnology. Posted Thursday, March 13, 2003
World's First Brain Prosthesis? Nope. Today's hype surrounding the "revealing" of the world's first neural prosthesis for the hippocampus is just that, hype. It's nice to keep the public informed about developments in neurotechnology. This research shows promise, but this is far from the first brain prosthesis.
Buildings that Soothe the Mind Why is art such a conspicuous feature of all societies? Why are certain sights and sounds more pleasing than others? Although most people believe that artistic tastes are entirely dependent on cultural influences, there is a small group of neuroscientists who are searching for more innate reasons. Neuroaesthetics is attemping to understand how art and architecture arouse aesthetic experience by starting from the basis of emotional and sensory experience. The movement is young, but in time may provide some interesting suggestion on how to design more soothing hospitals and intellectually arousing schools. It's all about the Look and Feel. Posted Wednesday, March 12, 2003
When will the Feds Mandate Brain Scans? Bush administration officials announced today a plan to commit $1 billion to perform DNA testing on convicted felons, including those who claim to be innocent. Results will be held in a national DNA database. 10 years ago it would have been technologically and fiscally impossible for a program like this to be imagined. As brain imaging technologies have become more accurate in their spatial and temporal resolution they are already beginning to provide a new window into an individual's cognitive and emotional judgement. Although hard to believe today, there will come a time when a national Brain Scan database gets announced. The real question is when, and how this neuroethical issue will impact our cognitive liberty. Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Brain Waves: Neurons, Bits & Genes A brief introduction to what I'll be covering here (as well as in a forthcoming book): The field of neurotechnology, the focus of this blog, encompasses numerous emerging technologies that will improve quality of life, cure disease and alleviate suffering. Neurotechnology also has the potential to redefine competitive advantage, restructure patterns of global production and make possible new modes of artistic expression. Groundbreaking advances in brain science (neurons), information technology (bits) and bioengineering (genes) have major implications for those researching the central nervous system and have us poised on the cusp of a thrilling new wave of innovation that I'll be chronicling and commenting on here. Up for discussion and analysis: the political, economic, ethical, and social forces that will shape the future of what will be one of the most important and fascinating stories of the coming decades. To receive Brain Waves daily by email, subscribe on the right. Also, please feel free to alert me to interesting articles, recent research, upcoming events, etc. Posted Monday, March 10, 2003
What Gets a Soldier Killed? The average U.S. soldier outside of Iraq today carries 160 lbs of gear. DARPA, the open government agency that brought us the Internet and is now gestating bleeding-edge research to enhance solider performance, is trying to change this through a program called "Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation." Just as Arpanet was once a government-only technology, many of the neurotechnology breakthroughs being developed by DARPA today will in time find their way into everyday use. Other programs worth checking out: Augmented Cognition, Metabolic Dominance, Continuous Assisted Performance, and Persistence in Combat. Posted Sunday, March 9, 2003
Peanuts Can Decrease Mental Health If a fragment of a peanut could kill you, wouldn't you feel a bit traumatized? For the estimated 1.5 million Americans allergic to peanuts help is on the way. Immunologists have developed a new drug, TNX-901, that alters an individual's sensitivity to peanuts from a half a peanut to over eight in some patients. Peanuts are tough to avoid in daily life as peanut oil is used in everything from gravy to pie crusts. Allergic reactions can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, hives, and breathing problems. Along with reducing these physical ailments, TNX-901, will reduce the mental trauma induced before each meal for peanut allergy sufferers. Four years ago, the Surgeon General issued its first official report stating that mental health is fundamental to physical well-being. The truth is that they are inextricably intertwined.
Brain Awareness Week: March 10-16 The Society for Neuroscience is promoting Brain Awareness Week with partnering institutions across the world. It comes complete with K-12 education materials, an international Brain Bee contest, and even promotional tchotskis. Posted Friday, March 7, 2003
Biocompetitive Advantage Provigil, short for "promotes vigilance," was approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of narcolepsy, a condition in which people fall asleep uncontrollably. Provigil apparently has the ability to keep people awake and alert for hours, or even days without the side effects — the buzz and jitteriness, or the risk of addiction — of coffee or amphetamines. It is an interesting example of how individuals and companies might leverage early neurotechnology for their competitive advantage. Posted Thursday, March 6, 2003
Brain's Boundaries: Want a New Accent? How many ways can our brains be molded? Researchers at Oxford believe they have zeroed in on the brain region involved in foreign accent syndrome, which causes patients' accents to shift suddenly. Listen to a recent example of an English woman reporter who has foreign accent syndrome: before and after. The first known case was reported in 1941 and involved a Norwegian woman who was ostracized when she developed what her neighbors thought was a German accent after she recovered from shrapnel injuries. Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2003
Neuroethics: The Battle for Your Mind In Ronald Bailey's The Battle for Your Brain he challenges eight objections to enhancing human performance with neurotechnology. He debunks the claims that neurological enhancements:
"In the 1960s many states outlawed the birth control pill, on the grounds that it would be too disruptive to society. Yet Americans, eager to take control of their reproductive lives, managed to roll back those laws, and no one believes that the pill could be re-outlawed today." Neuroethics is a topic that needs to be watched closely, our cognitive liberty is at stake. Posted Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Navy Seals to See with Their Tongues U.S Navy Seals are currently in the exploration phase of testing a device that will help them "see" in soupy-water environments. The plastic oral retainer device is connected to a infrared camera that transmits information to the tongue via 100 different microscopic metal points. This seems to be enough information to be able to navigate successfully in a 3-D environment. Unlike every other part of the body the tongue has no dead layers of skin, the saliva conducts electricity well, requiring only 3% of the voltage of normal skin. According to one prototype user, "it feels like pop rocks candy." Posted Monday, March 3, 2003
What is Neurotechnology? Neurotechnology is the set of tools that influence the human central nervous system, especially the brain, to achieve a desired effect. Today’s neurotechnology includes -- pyschopharmaceuticals, genetic engineering, psychological conditioning, physical augmentation, cellular implantation, electronic stimulation, and nanotechnology.
Lucky Day for those 33 year olds out there: 03/03/03 Copyright 2003 Corante. All rights reserved. Terms of use |
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