brain

Scientists can now use artificial intelligence (AI) to read human brain waves and translate them into text. According…

Your brain is your body's castle, protected by a near-impenetrable moat known as the blood-brain barrier.This fortress of boundary cells attempts to keep toxins and pathogens flowing through the rest of your body away from the sensitive tissues that make life and death decisions about the body's functions.Unfortunately, what makes it so efficient at blocking meddling materials also tends to block medications tasked with helping us heal, making the barrier a double-edged sword when it comes to treating diseases such as…

There may be a rise in concerning brain infections afflicting U.S. children. Hospitals and public health officials in some areas have documented higher than expected numbers of pediatric brain abscesses in recent years, often caused by Streptococcus bacteria. The complication remains rare, however, and in some places the rate has since returned to its baseline. Mental Health Apps Are a Privacy NightmareAbscesses are pockets of pusthat are usually caused by an ongoing bacterial infection (the pus is a mix of dead immune…

In their last minutes of life, some people's brains generate a surge of surprisingly organized-looking electrical activity that may reflect consciousness — although scientists aren't entirely sure.  According to new research, published Monday (May 1) in the journal PNAS, this surge can sometimes occur after a person's breathing stops but before the brain stops functioning. The activity pattern is somewhat similar to what is seen when people are awake or in dreamlike states, leading to speculation that perhaps these…

A small study has provided initial evidence of heightened activity in the brain during the process of dying, potentially related to consciousness. The research observed four patients in comatose states, following cardiac arrest, who were under EEG monitoring at the time of their deaths. In two of these patients, a surge of gamma wave activity, linked with consciousness, was recorded upon the removal of ventilator support. This activity was identified within the brain’s “hot zone”, associated with dreaming and altered…

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a semantic decoder that converts brain activity into a continuous text stream, according to a study published in Nature Neuroscience. This non-invasive AI system relies on a transformer model and could potentially aid individuals unable to physically communicate due to conditions like strokes. Participants undergo training with the decoder by listening to hours of podcasts while in an fMRI scanner. The decoder then generates text from brain activity while the…

Scientists said Monday they have found a way to use brain scans and artificial intelligence modelling to transcribe "the gist" of what people are thinking, in what was described as a step towards mind reading.While the main goal of the language decoder is to help people who have lost the ability to communicate, the US scientists acknowledged that the technology raised questions about "mental privacy". Aiming to assuage such fears, they ran tests showing that their decoder could not be used on anyone who had not allowed…

Scientists said Monday they have found a way to use brain scans and artificial intelligence modeling to transcribe "the gist" of what people are thinking, in what was described as a step towards mind reading.While the main goal of the language decoder is to help people who have lost the ability to communicate, the US scientists acknowledged that the technology raised questions about "mental privacy".Aiming to assuage such fears, they ran tests showing that their decoder could not be used on anyone who had not allowed it…

Many people who have come close to death or have been resuscitated report a similar experience: Their lives flash before their eyes, memorable moments replay, and they may undergo an out-of-body experience, sensing they’re looking at themselves from elsewhere in the room. Now, a small study mapping the brain activity of four people while they were dying shows a burst of activity in their brains after their hearts stop. The authors say the finding, published today…

A technique based on artificial intelligence (AI) can translate brain scans into words and sentences, a team of computational neuroscientists reports. Although in the early stages and far from perfect, the new technology might eventually help individuals with brain injuries or paralysis regain the ability to communicate, researchers say. The study “shows that, using the right methods and better models, we can actually decode what the subject is thinking,” says…