NEWRON Vol V, Issue XXII
Natan Davidovics
Hopkins Neuroengineering web site: http://neuroengineering.bme.jhu.edu
New job blog: http://neuroengjobs.blogspot.com/
Blog for administrative questions: http://neuroengineering.blogspot.com
NEWRON on the web!: http://groups.google.com/group/newron?lnk=srg&pli=1
Enjoy,
Natan Davidovics
NEWRON Publishing Corporation
Giving Prosthetics a Sense of Touch
Brain-machine interfaces have made it possible for monkeys and some humans to control robotic limbs using just their thoughts. But ideally, a person using an artificial limb or other device would not only be able to control the device, but also feel what it's touching.
A new study from the lab of Miguel Nicolelis at Duke University Medical Center takes a first step toward such an interface. In a paper published today in Nature, his team reports that monkeys can learn to operate a virtual-reality hand that incorporates tactile feedback.
Facebook friend tally is associated with differences in brain structure
The brains of people with large numbers of Facebook friends are different from those of people with fewer online connections, say neuroscientists.
The researchers at University College London found that users with the greatest number of friends on the social networking site had more grey matter in brain regions linked to social skills. The finding suggests that either social networking changes these brain regions, or that people born with these kinds of brains behave differently on websites like Facebook.