Transcranial magnetic stimulation Background[edit] Early attempts at stimulation of the brain using a magnetic field included those, in 1910, of Silvanus P. Thompson in London.[2] The principle of inductive brain stimulation with eddy currents has been noted since the 20th century. The first successful TMS study was performed in 1985 by Anthony Barker and his colleagues at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, England.[3] Its earliest application demonstrated conduction of nerve impulses from the motor cortex to the spinal cord, stimulating muscle contractions in the hand. As compared to the previous method of transcranial stimulation proposed by Merton and Morton in 1980[4] in which direct electrical current was applied to the scalp, the use of electromagnets greatly reduced the discomfort of the procedure, and allowed mapping of the cerebral cortex and its connections. Theory[edit] From the Biot–Savart law it has been shown that a current through a wire generates a magnetic field around that wire. Risks[edit]
Eidetic memory -photographic memory Overview[edit] The ability to recall images in great detail for several minutes is found in early childhood (between 2% and 10% of that age group) and is unconnected with the person's intelligence level.[citation needed] Like other memories, they are often subject to unintended alterations. The ability usually begins to fade after the age of six years, perhaps as growing vocal skills alter the memory process.[2][3] A few adults have had phenomenal memories (not necessarily of images), but their abilities are also unconnected with their intelligence levels and tend to be highly specialized. In extreme cases, like those of Solomon Shereshevsky and Kim Peek, memory skills can actually hinder social skills.[4] Persons identified as having a related condition known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)[1] are able to remember very intricate details of their own personal life, but this ability seems not to extend to other, non-autobiographical information. Skeptical views[edit]
Neuroscientists reveal magicians' secrets - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - NBCNews.com NEW YORK — There is a place for magic in science. Five years ago, on a trip to Las Vegas, neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde realized that a partnership was in order with a profession that has an older and more intuitive understanding of how the human brain works. Magicians, it seems, have an advantage over neuroscientists. "Scientists have only studied cognitive illusions for a few decades. She and Macknik, her husband, use illusions as a tool to study how the brain works. After their epiphany in Las Vegas, where they were preparing for a conference on consciousness, the duo, who both direct laboratories at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, teamed up with magicians to learn just how they harness the foibles of our brains. The psychological concepts behind illusions are generally better understood, but they treat the brain as something of a black box, without the insight into brain activity or anatomy that neuroscience can offer, they write.
Learn more quickly by transcranial magnetic brain stimulation, study in rats suggests What sounds like science fiction is actually possible: thanks to magnetic stimulation, the activity of certain brain nerve cells can be deliberately influenced. What happens in the brain in this context has been unclear up to now. Medical experts from Bochum under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Klaus Funke (Department of Neurophysiology) have now shown that various stimulus patterns changed the activity of distinct neuronal cell types. The researchers have published their studies in the Journal of Neuroscience and in the European Journal of Neuroscience. Magnetic pulses stimulate the brain Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a relatively new method of pain-free stimulation of cerebral nerve cells. Repeated stimuli change cerebral activity Contact points between cells are strengthened or weakened It is unknown to a great extent how precisely the activity of nerve cells is changed by repeated stimulation. Inhibitory cortical cells react particularly sensitive to stimulation
Study Reveals How Magic Works Scientists are figuring out how magicians fool our brains in research that also helps uncover how our mind actually works. A great deal of what scientists now understand about how the human visual system works stems from research into our susceptibility to optical illusions. "It made sense to look at magicians to advance knowledge of human cognition, since magicians have been working on figuring out how certain principles of psychology work for hundreds of years," said researcher Gustav Kuhn at the University of Durham in England, a cognitive psychologist who has also performed magic the past couple decades. "Magicians really have this ability to distort your perceptions, to get people to perceive things that never happened, just like a visual illusion," he added. The researchers looked into a magic trick called the "vanishing ball," in which a ball apparently disappears in midair. Kuhn videotaped himself performing two versions of the illusion.
Magnetic Mind Control How Does the Brain Work? PBS Airdate: September 14, 2011 NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Hi, I'm Neil deGrasse Tyson, your host for NOVA scienceNOW, where this season, we're asking six big questions. On this episode: How Does the Brain Work? To find out, I head to Las Vegas, where brain researchers are placing their bets on magic. MAC KING (Magician): That's a dang real fish. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Some of the world's top magicians... PENN JILLETTE (Magician): Place the ball... NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...are making the mysteries behind our most powerful organ disappear... I saw it go over! The illusionists reveal their secrets That motion will draw the eye ...giving us new insight into how our brain pays attention. STEPHEN MACKNIK (Barrow Neurological Institute): This would be a major contribution to science from the magicians. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Also, a magnetic wand ... MO ROCCA (Correspondent): Oh! NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ... that can control your body,... MO ROCCA: Ooh, wow! Keep your eye on the ball, son. Maria?
Will we hear the light? Public release date: 27-Mar-2011 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Lee Siegelleesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu 801-581-8993University of Utah SALT LAKE CITY, March 28, 2011 – University of Utah scientists used invisible infrared light to make rat heart cells contract and toadfish inner-ear cells send signals to the brain. The discovery someday might improve cochlear implants for deafness and lead to devices to restore vision, maintain balance and treat movement disorders like Parkinson's. "We're going to talk to the brain with optical infrared pulses instead of electrical pulses," which now are used in cochlear implants to provide deaf people with limited hearing, says Richard Rabbitt, a professor of bioengineering and senior author of the heart-cell and inner-ear-cell studies published this month in The Journal of Physiology. Infrared light can be felt as heat, raising the possibility the heart and ear cells were activated by heat rather than the infrared radiation itself.
Temporally structured replay of awake hippocampal ... [Neuron. 2001] - PubMed result fine line creativity and schizophrenia | Sc New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia. High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. "The study shows that highly creative people who did well on the divergent tests had a lower density of D2 receptors in the thalamus than less creative people," says Dr Ullén.
Neuroscience, free will and determinism: 'I'm just a machine' What does this mean in terms of free will? "We don't have free will, in the spiritual sense. What you're seeing is the last output stage of a machine. There are lots of things that happen before this stage – plans, goals, learning – and those are the reasons we do more interesting things than just waggle fingers. But there's no ghost in the machine." The conclusions are shocking: if we are part of the universe, and obey its laws, it's hard to see where free will comes into it. "If you see a light go green, it may mean press the accelerator; but there are lots of situations where it doesn't mean that: if the car in front hasn't moved, for example. Slowly, however, we are learning more about the details of that complexity. "What happens if someone commits a crime, and it turns out that there's a lesion in that brain area? This runs shockingly contrary to the sense of freedom that we feel in terms of controlling our actions, on which we base our whole sense of self and system of morality.
Binaural beats Binaural beats To experience the binaural beats perception, it is best to listen to this file with headphones on moderate to weak volume – the sound should be easily heard, but not loud. Note that the sound appears to pulsate. Now remove one earphone. The brain produces a phenomenon resulting in low-frequency pulsations in the amplitude and sound localization of a perceived sound when two tones at slightly different frequencies are presented separately, one to each of a subject's ears, using stereo headphones. Binaural beats reportedly influence the brain in more subtle ways through the entrainment of brainwaves[3][8][9] and provide other health benefits such as control over pain.[10][11] Acoustical background[edit] Interaural time differences (ITD) of binaural beats For sound localization, the human auditory system analyses interaural time differences between both ears inside small frequency ranges, called critical bands. History[edit] Unverified claims[edit] Physiology[edit] Overview[edit]