NEWRON Vol V, Issue XIX

[Natan Davidovics]

NeuroEngineering Weekly Review of News

 

Earthquakes?  Hurricanes?  Orioles sweeping a 4 game series against the Twins?  This week's NEWRON has some stiff news competition but we're up to the task.  Take a break from reading about hurricane Irene and feed your brain with the latest neuroengineering news.

Interesting NeuroEngineering links:

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

Deep brain stimulation hinders Parkinson’s for ten years and counting

http://blogs.nature.com/nm/spoonful/2011/08/deep_brain_stimulation_hinders.html

In 1993, French scientists first reported that electrodes implanted into the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease could drastically improve motor function and slow disease progression. And in the intervening two decades, this surgical technique, known as deep brain stimulation (DBS), has been used in around 60,000 people with the neurodegenerative disease. But given the brief availability of DBS, researchers have a poor understanding of how well the treatment works in the long-term. A new study, however, suggests that the treatment can improve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease patients even up to a decade after doctors first implant electrodes.

IBM's cognitive computing chip functions like a human brain, heralds our demise (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/18/ibms-cognitive-computing-chip-functions-like-a-human-brain-her/

After having created a supercomputer capable of hanging with Jeopardy's finest, IBM has now taken another step toward human-like artificial intelligence, with an experimental chip designed to function like a real brain. Developed as part of a DARPA project called SyNAPSE (Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics), IBM's so-called "neurosynaptic computing chip" features a silicon core capable of digitally replicating the brain's neurons, synapses and axons. To achieve this, researchers took a dramatic departure from the conventional von Neumann computer architecture, which links internal memory and a processor with a single data channel. This structure allows for data to be transmitted at high, but limited rates, and isn't especially power efficient -- especially for more sophisticated, scaled-up systems. Instead, IBM integrated memory directly within its processors, wedding hardware with software in a design that more closely resembles the brain's cognitive structure. This severely limits data transfer speeds, but allows the system to execute multiple processes in parallel (much like humans do), while minimizing power usage. IBM's two prototypes have already demonstrated the ability to navigate, recognize patterns and classify objects, though the long-term goal is to create a smaller, low-power chip that can analyze more complex data and, yes, learn. 

FDA allows expansion of St. Jude study to treat severe depression

http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/07/fda-allows-expansion-of-st-jude-study-to-treat-severe-depression/

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the thumbs up to St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) that allows the Minnesota medical device maker to expand a clinical study of a deep brain stimulation device to treat major depressive disorder.

St. Jude announced Monday that the Broaden severe depression study that is testing its Libra investigational device will now be conducted at 20 medical centers with a total of 125 patients. Before the FDA approval, the study was being conducted at three centers in Chicago, New York and Dallas.