Picture Recognition Read via Electrodes
LEICESTER, England (UPI) -- It is possible to read neurons in the human brain signaling conscious perception, a bio-engineer in England has discovered. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found neurons in the brain responded in an "all-or-none" way -- dramatically changing their firing rate -- when pictures were recognized even if the picture was flashed very briefly. "For example, a neuron in the hippocampus -- part of the brain involved with memory -- of one patient fired very strongly to a picture of the patient's brother when recognized and remained completely silent when it was not," study leader Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga of University of Leicester said in a statement. "Interestingly, based on the firing of these neurons it was possible to predict far above chance whether a picture was recognized or not." Quiroga's work has implications for neurologic diseases, as well as applications to the development of prosthetic devices that "read" commands directly from the brain. The study documented epileptic patients in whom intracranial electrodes were implanted in preparation for possibly curative surgery. This sometimes two-week process gives researchers an opportunity to study how neurons in the human brain respond to different perceptual and behavioral tasks.
LEICESTER, England (UPI) -- It is possible to read neurons in the human brain signaling conscious perception, a bio-engineer in England has discovered. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found neurons in the brain responded in an "all-or-none" way -- dramatically changing their firing rate -- when pictures were recognized even if the picture was flashed very briefly. "For example, a neuron in the hippocampus -- part of the brain involved with memory -- of one patient fired very strongly to a picture of the patient's brother when recognized and remained completely silent when it was not," study leader Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga of University of Leicester said in a statement. "Interestingly, based on the firing of these neurons it was possible to predict far above chance whether a picture was recognized or not." Quiroga's work has implications for neurologic diseases, as well as applications to the development of prosthetic devices that "read" commands directly from the brain. The study documented epileptic patients in whom intracranial electrodes were implanted in preparation for possibly curative surgery. This sometimes two-week process gives researchers an opportunity to study how neurons in the human brain respond to different perceptual and behavioral tasks.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
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