Thursday, December 15, 2016
Ethan Hawke
"Don't you find it odd... that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try," Ethan Hawke.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Neurons that Wire Together, Fire Together
"Steve Wozniak:
What do you do? You're not an engineer. You're not a designer. You can't
put a hammer to a nail. I built the circuit board! The graphical
interface was stolen! So how come ten times in a day I read Steve Jobs
is a genius? What do you do?
Throughout the film, ‘Steve Jobs’
(2015), it is clear that innovators throughout history had a massive influence
on Steve Jobs (played by Michael Fassbender) especially when the audience is
brought backstage of a theater where black and white blown-up photos of
individuals such as Bob Dylan and Lucille Ball filled the walls. As Jobs rushes
past these halls, a man asks Jobs’ who a particular man is. Steve tells him
that it’s Alan Turing who single-handedly ended World War II and invented the
personal computer. This is one of my favorite scenes because not many people
know who Alan Turning is and that he is the reason behind the apple logo.
In 1954, computer scientist and
brilliant mathematician Alan Turing who was suspected for a long time now of
killing himself with a poisoned (cyanide to be more specific) apple. At that
time, being romantically involved with a person of the same gender was against
the law and of the British government had him admit to the relationship. The
half-eaten apple was found at Turnings’ bedside at the time of his death. At
first the bite on the apple logo was decided upon so that people could
distinguish that it was an apple and not some other rounded fruit such as an
orange, peach, or a cherry. Before this, many had speculated that the apple
logo came from the religious story of Eve biting into forbidden fruit or even
of Newton’s discovery of gravity.
When Job is asked if Turing was the
reason behind the Apple logo (because the apple logo has a bite taken out of
it), Jobs admitted that it didn’t but that he wish it did as it would have made
for a great story. Both Steve Jobs and Steve Woz knew of Turning and his
milestone accomplishments towards computers as well as coding which pushed them
to honor Turning by commenting on his unique death by removing a single bite
from the apple graphic they had picked to represent their company.
"Andy Hertzfeld:
We're not a pit crew at Daytona. This can't be fixed in seconds.
Steve Jobs:
You didn't have seconds, you had three weeks. The universe was created in a third of that time.
Andy Hertzfeld:
Well, someday you'll have to tell us how you did it."
Introduction:
Scientists have discovered a new
treatment for spinal cord damage. Researchers in Switzerland found a way for
monkeys that have experienced spinal cord injuries to regain control of
non-functioning limbs. Through what they call, ‘Brain Spinal Interface’, their
research revealed that paralyzed individuals could be able to walk again in the
near future.
This unique system concentrates on
the lower part of the body. Monkeys with spinal cord damage that paralyzed their one
leg quickly regained the ability to walk with a wireless connection from the
brain to the spinal cord below the injury. This achievement is a recent
advancement in technological treatments for spinal cord damage. It allows for a
monkey to use a wireless system instead of being tied down to a computer. The
way it works is that it uses new developments in brain recording and nerve
stimulation. A computer is required to decode and translate brain signals which are then sent to the spinal cord.
This system has successfully worked on monkeys, but more research is needed in order for the system to be safe for a human. The way in which these new breakthrough technological
treatments work is with the use of robotic hands in monkeys (with humans it would be through brain control). These robotic hands have actually helped a paralyzed man
regain some use of his hand through an implanted chip in his brain. The chip allows for the brain to send electrical signals to stimulate the nerves to allow paralyzed rats to walk again.
The critical link that exists between decoding the brain and the stimulation's sent by the spinal cord is now built through this brain-spine interface. This link allows for the communication from the brain to the rest of the body of a completely paralyzed patient the ability to control their leg movements.
Researchers surgically placed implants in the brain and spinal cord of monkeys (aka: the neuro-prosthetic interface) which acts like a highway or bridge between the brain and spine.
Researchers surgically placed implants in the brain and spinal cord of monkeys (aka: the neuro-prosthetic interface) which acts like a highway or bridge between the brain and spine.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) or
brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) involve real-time direct connections between
the brain and a computer. Bidirectional feedback between the user and the
system produces physical changes that can restore some degree of motor or
communicative control for individuals with lost limbs, extensive paralysis or
who are significantly neurologically compromised. A BCI can enable an
individual with severe brain or bodily injury to regain some degree of agency.
By providing the subject with the relevant type of feedback, the device may enable
her to translate an intention into an action despite the inability to perform
voluntary bodily movements.
There are two types of feedback with
a BCI. The first concerns feedback about the outcome of a self-initiated,
BCI-mediated action, such as moving a computer cursor or robotic arm. It
provides only indirect feedback about brain activity. (This has a greater
potential to restore some behavior control so that one can perceive the success
or failure of their mental act.) The second type concerns direct feedback about
the level of brain activity itself. Although it is still at an early stage of
development, an EEG- or fMRI-based BCI might also enable minimally conscious
individuals or those with complete locked-in syndrome to communicate wishes about
medical treatment when they are unable to do this verbally or gestural.
"Steve Jobs:
What if the computer was a beautiful object? Something you wanted to
look at and have in your home. And what if instead of it being in the
right hands, it was in everyone's hands?
John Sculley:
We'd be talking about the most tectonic shift in the status quo since...
Steve Jobs:
...ever."
Back to Basics (Walking):
Neurons in the brain communicate with those in the spinal cord through
electrical signals. These electrical signals that originate in the brain’s
motor cortex travel down to the lumbar region in the lower spinal cord, where
they activate motor neurons that coordinate the movement of muscles responsible
for extending and flexing the leg.
When the upper spine endures severe trauma or injury it can permanently
block the communication between the brain and lower spinal cord. Although the
neurons in the motor cortex and spinal cord can still be fully functional, they
are no longer able to coordinate their normal activity. The goal of the study
was to re-establish some of that communication.
The Brain:
The human brain is capable of accepting an incredible amount of information
about the world in addition to the information picked up from the five human
senses (i.e. touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight). It controls all
unconscious tasks such as regulating body temperature, blood pressure, heart
rate, and breathing including conscious ones such as physical movement (i.e.
walking, talking, standing, and sitting). It is because of our brains that we
can dream, reason, think, and experience emotions.
The cerebellum or "little brain" is folded into itself making up
numerous lobes located above and behind the pons. This region of the brain
receives sensory input from the spinal cord, motor input from the cortex and
basal ganglia, and position information from the vestibular system. The
vestibular system is what helps us maintain our posture, balance, and gives us
our spatial orientation. Because this system is found in the inner part of the
ear, with it is attached the vestibulocochlear nerve (the eighth cranial nerve)
and certain parts of the brain that interpret the information the
vestibulocochlear nerve receives.
The cerebellum then integrates the information it receives from outgoing
motor pathways from the brain to coordinate movements. This area of the brain
has within it all the centers that receive and interpret sensory information,
initiate movement, analyze information, reason, and experience emotions making
the cerebellum the largest part of the human brain. Areas responsible for
accomplishing such tasks are located in various regions of the cerebral cortex
(outside layer of the cerebellum and is known as GRAY MATTER) whereas the
inside is known as WHITE MATTER.
"John Sculley:
The board believes you're no longer necessary to this company.
Steve Jobs:
I sat in a garage and invented the future because artists lead and hacks ask for a show of hands!"
Our central nervous system not only
processes integrated information, but it also regulates all of the conscious
and unconscious processes within the body. The brain is made up of 100 billion
nerve cells called neurons. These cells, neurons, have the ability to obtain
and deliver electro-chemical signals across long distances. These signals which
can travel up to several feet can send messages to other signals- communicating
with each other.
The spinal cord can be viewed as a
separate entity from the brain, or merely as a downward extension of the brain
stem. It contains sensory and motor pathways from the body, as well as ascending
and descending pathways from the brain. It has reflex pathways that react
independently of the brain, as in the knee-jerk reflex.
The three main types of neurons that
make up the nervous system are the sensory neurons ( carry signals to outer
parts of the body (periphery) into the CNS), motor neurons (carry signals from
CNS to outer parts (muscles, skin, glands) of your body), and interneurons
(connect various neurons within the brain and spinal cord).
Research:
With the brain spinal interface, the
implant can detect brain activity, send this information to a computer that decodes these very same signals, and then sends the spinal cord instructions in its lumbar region to begin walking. The system operates by regulating these signals just as described (i.e. recording stimulations from the motor cortex of the brain to trigger
coordinated electrical stimulation of nerves in the spine that are responsible
for locomotion).
When the system is turned on, the primates in the study revealed relatively close to normal movements in locomotion. The work could help in developing a similar system designed for humans who have had spinal cord injuries. A brain-controlled spinal stimulation system may enhance rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury and this new research is a great leap forward to testing such a possibility.
When the system is turned on, the primates in the study revealed relatively close to normal movements in locomotion. The work could help in developing a similar system designed for humans who have had spinal cord injuries. A brain-controlled spinal stimulation system may enhance rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury and this new research is a great leap forward to testing such a possibility.
BrainGate (a team of researchers
from Case Western Reserve University, Brown, Massachusetts General Hospital,
the Providence VA Medical Center, and Stanford University) created a type of
sensor technology in a pill-sized form for human ingestion. These pills were
used in pilot clinical trials (a study led by Brown neuroengineer Leigh
Hochberg in which people with tetraplegia) where people with tetraplegia were
able to operate a robotic arm simply by thinking about the movement of their
own hand.
The brain-spinal interface used a
pill-sized electrode array implanted in the brain to record signals from the
motor cortex. A wireless neurosensory sends the signals gathered by the brain
chip wirelessly to a computer that decodes them and sends them wirelessly back
to an electrical spinal stimulator implanted in the lumbar spine, below the
area of injury. That electrical stimulation, delivered in patterns coordinated
by the decoded brain, signals to the spinal nerves that control locomotion.
To calibrate the decoding of brain
signals, the researchers implanted the brain sensor and wireless transmitter in
healthy macaques. The signals relayed by the sensor could then be mapped onto
the animals' leg movements. They showed that the decoder was able to accurately
predict the brain states associated with extension and flexion of leg muscles.
The ability to transmit brain
signals wirelessly was critical for this work. Wired brain-sensing systems limit
freedom of movement, which in turn limits the information researchers are able
to gather about locomotion. By having the ability to wirelessly map the neural
activity in normal contexts and during natural behavior. To reach the goal of neuro-prosthetics that
can someday be deployed to help human patients during activities of daily life,
such untethered recording technologies will be critical.
Having a deep understanding and
knowledge in understanding how brain signals influence locomotion with spinal
maps (which identified the neural hotspots in the spine responsible for
locomotor control) enabled the team to identify the neural circuits that should
be stimulated by the spinal implant.
"Steve Wozniak:
They want ports!
Steve Jobs:
They don't get a vote. When Dylan wrote "Shelter from the Storm" he
didn't ask people to contribute to the lyrics. Plays don't stop so the
playwright can ask the audience what scene they'd like to see next."
Results:
The researchers tested the entire system on two
macaques with lesions that spanned half the spinal cord in their thoracic
spine. Macaques that had experienced this particular form of injury generally regain functional control of
the affected leg over a period of about a month. The team
tested their system in the weeks following the injury. They found no
volitional control over the affected leg. The study revealed that with the system
turned on, the animals began spontaneously moving their legs as they walked on the treadmill. Kinematic comparisons with healthy controls showed that macaques that had lesions (with the aid of brain-controlled stimulation) had the ability to show almost normal patterns of locomotion.
"John Sculley:
You're gonna end me, aren't you?
Steve Jobs: You're being ridiculous. I'm gonna sit center court and watch you do it yourself."
Steve Jobs: You're being ridiculous. I'm gonna sit center court and watch you do it yourself."
"Steve Jobs:
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,
the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About
the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things -
they push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the
crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to
think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Links:
(A)http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v539/n7628/full/nature20118.html
(C)http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/science/wireless-brain-spine-connection-paralysis.html?_r=0
(A)http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v539/n7628/full/nature20118.html
(B)http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/brain.htm
(C)http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/science/wireless-brain-spine-connection-paralysis.html?_r=0
(D)http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/paralysed-monkeys-walk-again-brain-spine-interface-a7408281.html
(E)https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161109133133.htm
*Please note! These images are not mine. They were
found on various tumblr sites! If any are yours please let me know so
that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have
no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks
so much & enjoy~
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