Brandon King › Comments

Publication Date: 2009 Apr 30 PMID: 19409264 Authors: Han, X. - Qian, X. - Bernstein, J. G. - Zhou, H. H. - Franzesi, G. T. - Stern, P. - Bronson, R. T. - Graybiel, A. M. - Desimone, R. - Boyden, E. S. Journal: Neuron To understand how brain states and behaviors are generated by neural circuits, it would be useful to be able to perturb precisely the activity of specific cell types and pathways in the nonhuman primate nervous system. We used lentivirus to target the light-activated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) specifically to excitatory neurons of the macaque frontal cortex. Using a laser-coupled optical fiber in conjunction with a recording microelectrode, we showed that activation of excitatory neurons resulted in well-timed excitatory and suppressive influences on neocortical neural networks. ChR2 was safely expressed, and could mediate optical neuromodulation, in primate neocortex over many months. These findings highlight a methodology for investigating the causal role... - Brandon King

Related Articles Mirror neurons differentially encode the peripersonal and extrapersonal space of monkeys. Science. 2009 Apr 17;324(5925):403-6 Authors: Caggiano V, Fogassi L, Rizzolatti G, Thier P, Casile A Actions performed by others may have different relevance for the observer, and thus lead to different behavioral responses, depending on the regions of space in which they are executed. We found that in rhesus monkeys, the premotor cortex neurons activated by both the execution and the observation of motor acts (mirror neurons) are differentially modulated by the location in space of the observed motor acts relative to the monkey, with about half of them preferring either the monkey's peripersonal or extrapersonal space. A portion of these spatially selective mirror neurons encode space according to a metric representation, whereas other neurons encode space in operational terms, changing their properties according to the possibility that the monkey will interact with the object.... - Brandon King

Related Articles The Science of Neural Interface Systems. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2009 Mar 24; Authors: Hatsopoulos NG, Donoghue JP The ultimate goal of neural interface research is to create links between the nervous system and the outside world either by stimulating or by recording from neural tissue to treat or assist people with sensory, motor, or other disabilities of neural function. Although electrical stimulation systems have already reached widespread clinical application, neural interfaces that record neural signals to decipher movement intentions are only now beginning to develop into clinically viable systems to help paralyzed people. We begin by reviewing state-of-the-art research and early-stage clinical recording systems and focus on systems that record single-unit action potentials. We then address the potential for neural interface research to enhance basic scientific understanding of brain function by offering unique insights in neural coding and representation,... - Brandon King

Related Articles The significance of neuroscience for philosophy. Funct Neurol. 2008 Oct-Dec;23(4):175-8 Authors: Churchland PS, Phil B The ground is shifting under the traditional approaches to problems in the philosophy of mind. Earlier doctrines concerning the independence of cognition from the brain now appear untenable. As neuroscience uncovers more about the organization and dynamics of the brain, it becomes increasingly evident that theories about our nature must be informed by neuroscientific data. Consistent with this progress, we may expect that philosophical problems about the mind will be productively addressed and perhaps radically transformed by a convergence of neuroscientific, psychological and computational research. PMID: 19331779 [PubMed - in process] - Brandon King

Related Articles The separate neural control of hand movements and contact forces. J Neurosci. 2009 Mar 25;29(12):3939-47 Authors: Chib VS, Krutky MA, Lynch KM, Mussa-Ivaldi FA To manipulate an object, we must simultaneously control the contact forces exerted on the object and the movements of our hand. Two alternative views for manipulation have been proposed: one in which motions and contact forces are represented and controlled by separate neural processes, and one in which motions and forces are controlled jointly, by a single process. To evaluate these alternatives, we designed three tasks in which subjects maintained a specified contact force while their hand was moved by a robotic manipulandum. The prescribed contact force and hand motions were selected in each task to induce the subject to attain one of three goals: (1) exerting a regulated contact force, (2) tracking the motion of the manipulandum, and (3) attaining both force and motion goals concurrently. By comparing... - Brandon King

The technology behind Neurosky's Mindset is essentially the same that was peddled around last year at trade shows. The only difference now is that it's ready for PC gaming consumption starting in July. For those in the dark, the Neurosky Mindset, is a gaming controller that monitors brainwaves, and uses those readings to carry out specific actions within a game. In demos, this includes sliding boxes, lifting objects, and setting crap on fire. It also doubles as a pair of Headphones with a bluetooth mic built-in. So how well does it work? I didn't spend tons of time with the demo, but I thought it was pretty intuitive, and I was able to channel different types of mind focus into in-game action. When asked to relax in order to levitate an item, I consciously made myself "relax." Lo and behold, the car started flying in the air. "Concentration" occurs when you focus intently on one point on the screen. I wasn't the greatest at this. The headset is pretty light and sits comfortably over... - Brandon King

Al writes "European researchers have taken a step towards replicating the functioning of the brain in silicon, creating new custom chip with the equivalent of 200,000 neurons linked up by 50 million synaptic connections. The aim of the Fast Analog Computing with Emergent Transient States (FACETS) project is to better understand how to construct massively parallel computer systems modeled on a biological brain. Unlike IBM's Blue Brain project, which involves modeling a brain in software, this approach makes it much easier to create a truly parallel computing system. The set-up also features a distributed algorithm that introduces an element of plasticity, allowing the circuit to learn and adapt. The researchers plan to connect thousands of chips to create a circuit with a billion neurons and 10^13 synapses (about a tenth of the complexity of the human brain)." Read more of this story at Slashdot. - Brandon King

I remember the smoke the most. That pungent smell permeating the camps of tribal people. Everything they touch is infused with the lingering perfume of smoke -- their food, shelter, tools, and art. Everything. Even the skin of the youngest tribal child emits smokiness when they pass by. I can hold a memento from my visits decades later and still get a whiff of that primeval scent. Anywhere in the world, no matter the tribe, steady wafts of smoke drift in from the central fire. If things are done properly, the flame never goes out. It smolders to roast bits of meat, and its embers warm bodies at night. The fire's ever-billowing clouds of smoke dry out sleeping mats overhead, preserve hanging strips of meat, and drive away bugs at night. Fire is a universal tool, good for so many things, and it leaves an indelible mark of smoke on a society with scant other technology. Besides the smoke I remember the immediacy of experience that opens up when the mediation of technology is removed in a... - Brandon King

People go to Florida to see the space shuttle launch live, but these guys totally own everyone: They fly next to the launch site and jump from the plane in their wingsuits to watch it. In the video it looks like it's far away, but take into account that those are very wide lenses. Of course, they are out of the airspace exclusion area, but they are quite close. Apparently, from up there the clarity of the launch is amazing. I so want to do this. - Brandon King

Related Articles Programmed acute electrical stimulation of ventral tegmental area alleviates depressive-like behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Mar;34(4):1057-66 Authors: Friedman A, Frankel M, Flaumenhaft Y, Merenlender A, Pinhasov A, Feder Y, Taler M, Gil-Ad I, Abeles M, Yadid G Depressive disorders affect approximately 5% of the population in any given year. Antidepressants may require several weeks to produce their clinical effects. Despite progress being made in this area there is still room and a need to explore additional therapeutic modes to increase treatment effectiveness and responsiveness. Herein, we examined a new method for intervention in depressive states based on deep brain stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a source of incentive motivation and hedonia, in comparison to chemical antidepressants. The pattern of stimulation was fashioned to mimic the firing pattern of VTA neurons in the normal rat. Behavioral manifestations of depression were then... - Brandon King

Related Articles Lesions to the Motor System Affect Action Perception. J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 Mar 20; Authors: Serino A, De Filippo L, Casavecchia C, Coccia M, Shiffrar M, Làdavas E Abstract Several studies have shown that the motor system is involved in action perception, suggesting that action concepts are represented through sensory-motor processes. Such conclusions imply that motor system impairments should diminish action perception. To test this hypothesis, a group of 10 brain-damaged patients with hemiplegia (specifically, a lesion at the motor system that affected the contralesional arm) viewed point-light displays of arm gestures and attempted to name each gesture. To create the dynamic stimuli, patients individually performed simple gestures with their unaffected arm while being videotaped. The videotapes were converted into point-light animations. Each action was presented as it had been performed, that is, as having been produced by the observer's unaffected arm, and in its... - Brandon King

Someday we'll all gain access to our homes through eye scans and vein analysis, but in the meantime you might want to wave your geek flag via your keychain with the USB Robot Flash Drive. Able to hold up to 8 gigabytes of data and available in silver or gold, the pleasingly retro robot flash drive is a subtle way to let the world know that you are ready to welcome our new robo-overlords in style when The Singularity arrives. You can pick up your shiny new leash for just $34 here. Via Technabob - Brandon King

Publication year: 2009 Source: Cognition, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 23 March 2009 Günther, Knoblich , Bruno H., Repp In three experiments we investigated how people determine whether or not they are in control of sounds they hear. The sounds were either triggered by participants’ taps or controlled by a computer. The task was to distinguish between self-control and external control during active tapping, and during passive listening to a playback of the sounds recorded during the active condition. Experiment 1 required detection of a change in control mode within trials. Experiments 2 and 3 introduced a simple rhythm reproduction task that requires discrimination of control modes between trials. The results demonstrate that both sensorimotor cues and perceptual cues... - Brandon King

21 new PubMed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: motor cortex These PubMed results were generated on 2009/03/23 PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, includes over 15 million citations for biomedical articles back to the 1950's. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources. - Brandon King

Publication Date: 2009 Apr 17 PMID: 19299587 Authors: Gradinaru, V. - Mogri, M. - Thompson, K. R. - Henderson, J. M. - Deisseroth, K. Journal: Science Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutic option for intractable neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease and major depression. Because of the heterogeneity of brain tissues where electrodes are placed, it has been challenging to elucidate the relevant target cell types or underlying mechanisms of DBS. We used optogenetics and solid-state optics to systematically drive or inhibit an array of distinct circuit elements in freely moving parkinsonian rodents and found that therapeutic effects within the subthalamic nucleus can be accounted for by direct selective stimulation of afferent axons projecting to this region. In addition to providing insight into DBS mechanisms, these results demonstrate an optical approach for dissection of disease circuitry and define the technological toolbox needed for... - Brandon King

NEW HUMANIST BLOG : Now that some of the hysteria has died down over the removal from the New Scientist website of a piece on how to spot hidden religious agendas in science books, it's worth taking another look at the story... READ MORE - Brandon King

The Axon is a bit of a shocker from Taser. It's not a "taser" in a traditional sense, but a POV camera cleverly squeezed into a Bluetooth-sized headset. Connecting via 3.5mm jack existing radio systems (like walkie talkies), the video signal appears to piggyback on existing transmissions, allowing remote monitoring and recording of what a police officer sees from their perspective. Shooting color and lowlight IR modes, the system is being pitched as a means to provide accurate footage in cases where a police officer is questioned in court. Still, we can't help but consider the Axon possibly the first practical camera to record our whole lives, with most people assuming that you were merely donning a Bluetooth mic through the day. [Axon via Engadget] - Brandon King

Special forces may use throat mics to coordinate near-silent attacks on enemy bases, but Sanwa wants to bring all that convenience to your next supermarket run. Sanwa's hands-free throat mic looks like a military headset, but it's made for use with your cellphone (which we're assuming isn't part of your black ops kit, but we're not judging). Good for noisy environments and just those times you don't want the cabbie to know about your ass rash, Sanwa's system should be available for import soon. [Sanwa via Akihabara News] - Brandon King