NEWRON Volume VI, Issue VI

[NEWRON Admin]

NeuroEngineering Weekly Review of News

 

Hey NEWRON Subscribers,

 

I hope everyone caught the exciting material that came out of FutureMed last week at Singularity University. This past week also saw some interesting articles regarding vision restoration in both humans (article 2) and animals (article 3).

 

Enjoy,

Mike Batista

NEWRON Editor and Manager

 

 

Reviews

Unconscious brain processing improves decisions

New brain imaging research from Carnegie Mellon University, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, found that the brain regions responsible for making decisions continue to be active even when the conscious brain is distracted with a different task. The research provides some of the first evidence showing how the brain unconsciously processes decision information in ways that lead to improved decision-making.

 

Read more:

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2013/02/unconscious-brain-processing-improves-decisions

 

Device offers partial vision for the blind

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first treatment to give limited vision to people who are blind, involving a technology called the artificial retina. The device allows people with a certain type of blindness to detect crosswalks on the street, the presence of people or cars, and sometimes even large numbers or letters. The approval of the system marks a milestone in a new frontier in vision research, a field in which scientists are making strides with gene therapy, optogenetics, stem cells and other strategies.

Read more + video:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/health/fda-approves-technology-to-give-limited-vision-to-blind-people.html 

 

 

Implant gives rats sixth sense, now they can see infrared light

Duke University researchers have equipped rats with implanted sensors that enable them to see and respond to infrared light, which is normally invisible to rodent (and human) eyes. Rats in the future could be given full-fledged infrared vision, and even humans can be given the ability to see in any region of the electromagnetic spectrum, or even magnetic fields in the future. Expanding sensory abilities could also enable a new type of feedback to improve the speed and accuracy of exoskeletons, said Professor Miguel Nicolelis, who led the research team.

Read more:

http://neurogadget.com/2013/02/13/implant-gives-rats-sixth-sense-now-they-can-see-infrared-light/7154

And more:

http://www.nicolelislab.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DCNE-02122013.pdf