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Sabine Hossenfelder and Bernardo Kastrup have a theolocution on superdeterminism and free variables.
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Continue reading “The Mind-Blowing Theory That Challenges Everything We Know” »

NB Whilst claims of logical possibility intended to support reality claims (such as Swinburne’s proposal of disembodied existence) become subject to constraints of reality, those not intended to support any reality claim need not be subject to such constraints.

Selected Resources (see also part 1):

Continue reading “Substance Dualism (Part 2 of 2) [HD]” »

Diagnosing schizophrenia as early as possible helps minimize the toll the neurological disorder takes on the body and the mind. Unfortunately the condition’s signs can be difficult to spot in the early stages.

That’s why researchers led by a team from the Indiana University School of Medicine have developed a test which offers a relatively simple and reliable way to check for current schizophrenia severity and future risk.

“Psychosis usually manifests in young adulthood – a prime period of life,” says neuroscientist Alexander Niculescu from the Indiana University School of Medicine. “Stress and drugs, including marijuana, are precipitating factors on a background of genetic vulnerability.”

Scientists from medical tech company Fluicell have partnered with clinical R&D firm Cellectricon and the Swedish Karolinska Institutet university to 3D bioprint neural cells into complex patterns.

Using the microfluidic printheads featured on Fluicell’s Biopixlar platform, the researchers were able to accurately arrange rat brain cells within 3D structures, without damaging their viability. The resulting cerebral tissues could be used to model the progress of neurological diseases, or to test the efficacy of related drugs.

“We’ve been using Biopixlar to develop protocols for the printing of different neuronal cells types, and we are very pleased with its performance,” said Mattias Karlsson, CEO of Cellectricon. “This exciting technology has the potential to open completely new avenues for in-vitro modeling of a wide range of central and PNS-related diseases.”

Researchers are devising a blood test screening for 11 newly discovered biomarkers of dementia. They say the test could predict its development 15 years before symptom onset.

Studies show that physical activity is actually a mental health exercise. One article that states just 15 minutes of walking, especially in the out-of-doors, can boost mood and reduce feelings of depression.

People seem to think more clearly after a brisk walk as well. It makes sense. As the heart pumps oxygen and nutrients to working muscles, the brain gets the same benefits.

Are there foods that might help our brains stay focused? In 2015, scientists reported on a diet that was found to help slow the gradual decline in cognitive function we may experience as we age. It was a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) cutely named the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay).

For millennia, the human brain has been a largely unexplored frontier. Relative to the whole of human history, studying, understanding, and influencing human thought and consciousness is a radically new endeavor. Only in the twenty-first century has science truly begun to progress far enough into the field of neuroscience for effective neurotechnologies to begin to take shape.

The implications of neurotechnologies for society are vast. From pharmaceuticals that improve quality of life, to brain imaging that revolutionizes our conception of human consciousness, neurotechnologies stand to change our understanding of ourselves and harness the power of the brain and nervous system’s myriad functions to promote human thriving.

What are neurotechnologies?

This isn’t rocket science it’s neuroscience.

Ever since the dawn of antiquity, people have strived to improve their cognitive abilities. From the advent of the wheel to the development of artificial intelligence, technology has had a profound leverage on civilization. Cognitive enhancement or augmentation of brain functions has become a trending topic both in academic and public debates in improving physical and mental abilities. The last years have seen a plethora of suggestions for boosting cognitive functions and biochemical, physical, and behavioral strategies are being explored in the field of cognitive enhancement. Despite expansion of behavioral and biochemical approaches, various physical strategies are known to boost mental abilities in diseased and healthy individuals. Clinical applications of neuroscience technologies offer alternatives to pharmaceutical approaches and devices for diseases that have been fatal, so far. Importantly, the distinctive aspect of these technologies, which shapes their existing and anticipated participation in brain augmentations, is used to compare and contrast them. As a preview of the next two decades of progress in brain augmentation, this article presents a plausible estimation of the many neuroscience technologies, their virtues, demerits, and applications. The review also focuses on the ethical implications and challenges linked to modern neuroscientific technology. There are times when it looks as if ethics discussions are more concerned with the hypothetical than with the factual. We conclude by providing recommendations for potential future studies and development areas, taking into account future advancements in neuroscience innovation for brain enhancement, analyzing historical patterns, considering neuroethics and looking at other related forecasts.

Keywords: brain 2025, brain machine interface, deep brain stimulation, ethics, non-invasive and invasive brain stimulation.

Continue reading “Brain augmentation and neuroscience technologies: current applications, challenges, ethics and future prospects” »

Despite a long history of studying perceptual biases in neuroscience, many of the biases remain difficult to explain and even appear to be contradictory. The authors propose a unifying theory that sheds new light on such puzzling perceptual biases.