Positive Technology Journal

Motor-evoked potentials following imagery and limb disuse.

Int J Neurosci. 2006 May;116(5):639-51

Authors: Crews RT, Kamen G

PlaydoCAM™ is a free software that allows to use the web camera into a motion-tracking gaming device and play pong or basketball on Mac or PC without installing any new software by the interface mechanism of waving the hands in the air. I tried it and it worked fine...

I think that this technology could be effectively used in home-based training for poststroke hemiplegia

From the CP&B website

Functions of the Mirror Neuron System: Implications for Neurorehabilitation.

Cogn Behav Neurol. 2006 Mar;19(1):55-63

Authors: Buccino G, Solodkin A, Small SL

Mirror neurons discharge during the execution of hand object-directed actions and during the observation of the same actions performed by other individuals. These neurons were first identified in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and later on in the inferior parietal lobule of monkey brain, thus constituting the mirror neuron system. More recently, mirror neurons for mouth object-directed actions have also been found in the monkey. Several pieces of experimental data demonstrate that a mirror neuron system devoted to hand, mouth, and foot actions is also present in humans. In the present paper we review the experimental evidence on the role of the mirror neuron system in action understanding, imitation learning of novel complex actions, and internal rehearsal (motor imagery) of actions. On the basis of features of the mirror neuron system and its role in action understanding and imitation, we discuss the possible use of action observation and imitation as an approach for systematic training in the rehabilitation of patients with motor impairment of the upper limb after stroke.

Cognitive skills analysis, kinesiology, and mental imagery in the acquisition of surgical skills.

J Otolaryngol. 2005 Oct;34(5):328-32

Authors: Bathalon S, Dorion D, Darveau S, Martin M

GOAL: Isolate and evaluate the impact of mental imagery on the acquisition of an emergency surgical technique. METHOD: We studied 44 first-year medical students performing a cricothyrotomy on a mannequin to determine the impact of teaching using mental imagery (MI) and/or kinesiology (KG) compared to the standard Advandec Trauma Life Support (ATLS) approach. Students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: MI and KG, KG alone or control (ATLS). Two weeks after the one-hour teaching session, they were evaluated with an OSCE testing the performance of the different steps of the technique, the time required and its fluidity. RESULTS: Total results (maximum: 25 marks) are as follows: KG + MI = 20.3 +/- 1.5 ; KG = 19.3 +/- 2.9 ; ATLS = 18.2 +/- 2.5. The only statistically significant difference for total results was in the use of MI and KG compared to the control group. Kinesiology alone or with mental imagery improved the fluidity of the performance. CONCLUSION: Many factors influence the acquisition of a surgical technique. This study showed that acquisition and performance of an emergency procedure (cricothyrotomy) was improved when mental imagery and kinesiology were combined to teach it.

Simulating social interaction to address deficits of autistic spectrum disorder in children.

Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Apr;9(2):213-7

Authors: Trepagnier CY, Sebrechts MM, Finkelmeyer A, Stewart W, Woodford J, Coleman M

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed on the basis of impairment in reciprocal social interaction and language, and rigidity of behavior. This brief paper describes the development of an experimental intervention for preschool children newly diagnosed with ASD. The rationale for this intervention is the hypothesis that failure to attend to social cues in very early life, of itself, may bear a large share of responsibility for core social and communicative deficits. The intervention, therefore, uses eye-tracking to monitor and trigger rewards for attention to facial expression and direction of gaze.

Neurofeedback treatment of epilepsy: from basic rationale to practical application.

Expert Rev Neurother. 2006 Feb;6(2):247-57

Authors: Egner T, Sterman MB

From VRoot.org (via MSNBC)

With Pentagon support, researchers develop thought-controlled limbs. Work on artificial arms that would be controlled by the human mind is ramping up, thanks to a helping financial hand from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA announced in February that it would pour $55 million into a prosthetic arm research project to be led by Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. The work will be spread among more than two dozen institutions.

From 3pointd.com:

SpatiaLight, which manufactures “ultra high-resolution Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) microdisplays for the high definition television market,” has a press release accouncing that it’s now developing “a 3-D eyeglass-type display device for use with wireless phones, personal digital assistants and personal media players, which enable the viewing of broadband content, cable and satellite television, music videos as well as playing of video games, all with the experience of high definition large screen television.” Imagine: instead of all the laptops at Starbucks, we’ll one day see a bunch of people logging into the virtual world via a hyper-powered Blackberry and their SpatiaLight VR glasses.

From textually.org 

Electromagnetic radiation from your mobile phone may impair your ability to make snap decisions, such as when driving a car, an Australian study shows, reports Optus.net via Engadget Mobile and Techdirt Wireless.

"The study, which will be published in the journal Neuropsychologia found evidence of slowed reactions, on both simple reactions and more complex reactions, such as choosing a response when there is more than one alternative.

The researchers found these effects after people were exposed to electromagnetic radiation equivalent to spending 30 minutes on the phone."

... Another interesting finding of the study was that the participants showed a slight improvement in working memory, such as remembering a phone number long enough to dial it."

Via VRoot

Mercurynews reports that at least two start-ups have developed technology that monitors a player's brain waves and uses the signals to control the action in games. They hope it will enable game creators to immerse players in imaginary worlds that they can control with their thoughts instead of their hands.

San Jose's NeuroSky has been testing prototypes of its system that uses a sensor-laden headband to monitor brain waves, and then uses the signals to control the interaction in video games. They hope that such games are just the beginning of a mind-machine interface with many different applications.

Read the full story

From Smart Mobs

Neuro-biologist Susan Greenfield asked this interesting question:

From Smart Mobs 

Instant messaging, favored by chatting teens and office gossips, is a growing tool for therapists counseling people on everything from smoking cessation to sexual-abuse trauma, reports the Pioneer Press.

Proponents say the text-based conversations are appealing because they're fast and anonymous — users can log onto a number of online services and connect with therapists who know them only by screen names. But many in the mental-health community say the format is too impersonal for effective treatment and should be only an adjunct to face-to-face counseling.

... Text messaging, critics say, doesn't allow therapists to pick up on important visual cues to a patient's true state of mind.

"What one gleans as a psychiatrist in a clinical assessment is not just from the words one says but from the emotions," says Paul Appelbaum, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University and past president of the American Psychiatric Association. He says doctors need to assess the way a person walks, sits, smiles or tears up.

Toward brain correlates of natural behavior: fMRI during violent video games.

Hum Brain Mapp. 2006 Apr 20;

Authors: Mathiak K, Weber R

Modern video games represent highly advanced virtual reality simulations and often contain virtual violence. In a significant amount of young males, playing video games is a quotidian activity, making it an almost natural behavior. Recordings of brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during gameplay may reflect neuronal correlates of real-life behavior. We recorded 13 experienced gamers (18-26 years; average 14 hrs/week playing) while playing a violent first-person shooter game (a violent computer game played in self-perspective) by means of distortion and dephasing reduced fMRI (3 T; single-shot triple-echo echo-planar imaging [EPI]). Content analysis of the video and sound with 100 ms time resolution achieved relevant behavioral variables. These variables explained significant signal variance across large distributed networks. Occurrence of violent scenes revealed significant neuronal correlates in an event-related design. Activation of dorsal and deactivation of rostral anterior cingulate and amygdala characterized the mid-frontal pattern related to virtual violence. Statistics and effect sizes can be considered large at these areas. Optimized imaging strategies allowed for single-subject and for single-trial analysis with good image quality at basal brain structures. We propose that virtual environments can be used to study neuronal processes involved in semi-naturalistic behavior as determined by content analysis. Importantly, the activation pattern reflects brain-environment interactions rather than stimulus responses as observed in classical experimental designs. We relate our findings to the general discussion on social effects of playing first-person shooter games. Hum. Brain Mapping 2006. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

From Yahoo News:

PENSACOLA, Fla. - In their quest to create the super warrior of the future, some military researchers aren't focusing on organs like muscles or hearts. They're looking at tongues. By routing signals from helmet-mounted cameras, sonar and other equipment through the tongue to the brain, they hope to give elite soldiers superhuman senses similar to owls, snakes and fish.