Neuroengineering

March 2, 2009 10:15 PM

Rewiring the Brain: Inside the New Science of Neuroengineering. Dial H for Happiness: How Neuroengineering May Change Your Brain.
posted by homunculus (7 comments total)

The fiber optic cable leading into its brain is barely visible until someone turns on the blue light. Then the animal runs to the left in large, almost perfectly circular loops. "You've got to wonder what he's is thinking," Deisseroth muses. "It's 'I gotta go left, I gotta go left.'"

That sends a shiver down my spine. The dead horse of dualism gets sent to the glue factory
posted by crayz at 1:37 AM on March 3, 2009

"At his console he hesitated between dialing for a thalamic suppressant (which would abolish his mood of rage) or a thalamic stimulant (which would make him irked enough to win the argument).

"If you dial," Iran said, eyes open and watching, "for greater venom, then I'll dial the same."
posted by The Whelk at 5:42 AM on March 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is quite safe for use as a neurological therapy or research tool. Its effects are temporary, and while TMS can induce a seizure, that usually won't occur without a deliberate effort or gross negligence on the part of the operator. [...]

They've put together an open source TMS project that might allow anyone to start an at-home DIY brain hacking lab.

TMS is safe in the right hands. Okay. And if anyone can make their own, how safe will it be then?
posted by effwerd at 7:27 AM on March 3, 2009

@effwerd, well, looking at that wiki, there's a long way to go (not much data there apart from "we need these components").
posted by lowlife at 7:42 AM on March 3, 2009

Yeah, I noticed the "might" hedge in the article and it does look like OpenStim is just starting. I'd just hate to see the research get derailed by some enterprising idiot frying his brain with a DIY kit.
posted by effwerd at 8:20 AM on March 3, 2009

Sadly it looks like that wiki is going nowhere. The last modified date on the home page is 2006, which from some googling also looks to be the last time anyone was talking about it, prior to this Wired article
posted by crayz at 9:02 AM on March 3, 2009

Lots of hype, very little science. Delgado was controlling a bull's motor neurons to stop it charging in a similar way in the 1950's.
posted by Maias at 9:56 AM on March 3, 2009