A never-ending journey to understanding the complex human brain
Some of you may be familiar with the videogame series Cyberpunk, where people in this world have a plethora of body modifications available that enable them to improve not only their health and skills, but also provides digital access to information within their bodies. Want a better memory? Implant. Problematic joint? Implant. Need stats on your body’s health? Just login and you can see the data. Read on for more on the latest in brain research IRL.
If you could search via Google inside your own brain, would you? Recent news implies that this will not exactly be fictional for long. Scientists have devised ways for brain implants to “read” words directly from brains. Cedarville University is researching the ability to create 3D-printed spinal implants. RefluxStop is an implant that treats acid reflux. They’re even studying how to charge body implants through the power of breathing. It may not be that far into the future that we can google our own brains for things like “What was that one restaurant in Italy where we had that fantastic fish?”
Deep brain stimulation may quell urges to binge eat: Researchers are conducting a pilot study to see if leveraging deep brain stimulation, often used to suppress tremors in patients with Parkinson’s disease, could have similar effects on suppressing urges to binge eat. Brain-connected devices that identify electrical impulses correlated with urges to binge, and prevent those insatiable urges by calming the activated neurons with brain stimulation are being tested on two women who have both steadily regained weight after trying numerous diets, bariatric surgeries, and other remedies. While maintaining weight loss is known to be very difficult, it did not occur to these women that weight gain may be the result of a misfiring neuron in their brains. The study is contributing to a greater effort to understand whether deep brain stimulation could be used to treat a variety of movement disorders and psychiatric conditions like depression or obsessive compulsive disorder that may be caused by an impaired brain circuit.
Genetic differences between autistic and neurotypical brains are greater than initially understood: A recent study by UCLA researchers discovered the differences in genetic makeup of brains of those with autism compared to those of neurotypical individuals is much more widespread than just within the social behavior and language centers of the brain. Researchers were surprised to find significant genetic differences in the sensory regions, which were originally chosen as controls. Instead, it appears the visual cortex (which processes tactile, temperature, and pain sensations) may be the most affected region; this aligns with the experiences of many autistic individuals who present with sensory processing sensitivities. Observing these changes in the brain is a critical first step towards better understanding the behavioral differences they cause. The next phase of research will focus on exploring why the visual cortex has such drastic differences and determining if all of these observed genetic variances manifest in behavioral changes. Eventually, the researchers hope to develop therapies that could influence or reverse the unique gene expressions they have/will have discovered.
Neural pathway identified that may help alleviate symptoms of nausea: Up until recently, it was not fully understood how the brain knew when unwelcome contents had entered the stomach and how it initiated the process to speedily expel said contents from the body. In a recent study with mice, researchers identified specific neurons in the brain that are contacted by cells triggered by signs of queasiness. Those neurons subsequently release neurotransmitters once the toxic substance reaches the stomach and notifies cells in the small intestine accordingly. Better understanding this process helped researchers discover that suppressing one particular molecule which was identified as a significant player in this neural pathway considerably reduced symptoms of nausea the mice experienced. The development of drugs that suppress or interfere with cells involved in the nausea to vomiting pathway could be influential in reducing the oft-cited and extremely undesirable side effects of chemotherapy drugs.
The Big Picture: The human brain continues to impress as we continue to understand it more deeply. New ways to address weight gain could drastically improve health outcomes and reduce the prevalence of conditions directly associated with weight – ones that are often very costly for employers. Better understanding the brains of neurodiverse individuals will only lead to better supporting these individuals’ needs both at home and at work. And reducing the symptoms of nausea could dramatically improve the lifestyle of people living with cancer diagnoses.