A team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on and off and precisely control motor activity without surgical device implantation.
Technology has potential to help people affected by stroke or other conditions communicate
January 28, 2021 SHARE
Areas in the back of the brain become active when a person looks at an image. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have used light to decode brain signals and identify what image a person sees. (Video: Edward Del Rosario)
Some people are trapped within their own minds, able to think and feel but unable to express themselves because brain injury or disease has damaged their lines of communication with the outside world.
As a step toward helping people in such situations communicate, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have demonstrated that they can use light to detect what is going on inside someone’s head. The researchers use LED light beamed from the outside of the head inward to detect activity in the area of the brain responsible for visual processing, and then decode brain signals to determine