About NEUCRIN
Autism.
You may have heard this name before. Autism is a brain development
disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication,
and by restricted and repetitive behavior found in many children in our
country and across the globe now-a-days. These signs all begin before a
child is three years old. Autism affects many parts of the brain; how
this occurs is not understood. The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) also
include the related conditions Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS, which have
fewer signs and symptoms.
Autism
is a highly variable brain development disorder that first appears
during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course
without remission. Overt symptoms gradually begin after the age of six
months, become established by age two or three years, and tend to
continue through adulthood, although often in more muted form. It is
distinguished not by a single symptom, but by a characteristic triad of
symptoms: impairments in social interaction; impairments in
communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other
aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential
for diagnosis. Autism's individual symptoms occur in the general
population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line
separating pathologically severe from common traits. They don’t ask that
they are hungry or they don’t complaint when their hand is on some hot
burning thing also or they just sit crying but don’t say why they are
crying for.
Then
what is a brain-computer interface? A brain–computer interface (BCI),
sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain–machine interface,
is a direct communication pathway between a brain and an external
device. BCIs are often aimed at assisting, augmenting or repairing human
cognitive or sensory-motor functions.
Then
what are brain implants? Brain implants, often referred to as neural
implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a
biological subject's brain - usually placed on the surface of the brain,
or attached to the brain's cortex. A common purpose of modern brain
implants and the focus of much current research are establishing a
biomedical prosthesis circumventing areas in the brain, which became
dysfunctional after a stroke or other head injuries. This includes
sensory substitution, e.g. in vision. Other brain implants are used in
animal experiments simply to record brain activity for scientific
reasons. Some brain implants involve creating interfaces between neural
systems and computer chips, which are part of a wider research field
called brain-computer interfaces. Brain-computer interface research also
includes technology such as EEG arrays that allow interface between
mind and machine but do not require direct implantation of a device.
What
do we have to do with these? The answer for this question is that these
modern technologies of brain-computer interface establishment or brain
implants can be used to detect the pulses produced due to stimulus in
human mind of autistic patients. Using these modern technologies, cant
we help these patients express their hunger, pain or reason for crying.
A
brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a direct neural
interface or a brain–machine interface, is a direct communication
pathway between a brain and an external device. BCIs are often aimed at
assisting, augmenting or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor
functions.
Research on BCIs began in the 1970s at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA. The papers published after this research also mark the first appearance of the expression brain–computer interface in scientific literature.
The
field of BCI has since blossomed spectacularly, mostly toward
neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing,
sight and movement. Thanks to the remarkable cortical plasticity of the
brain, signals from implanted prostheses can, after adaptation, be
handled by the brain like natural sensor or effector channels. Following
years of animal experimentation, the first neuroprosthetic devices
implanted in humans appeared in the mid-nineties.
fig 1. Dummy unit illustrating the design of a BrainGate interface
fig 2. Normal MRI showing geostructural characteristics of human brain
fig 3. fMRI showing oxygen demand by actuated parts of human brain
That’s
what we are presently working on. This is the one thing of many things
we are working on to help others. This thing has been chosen to help
many children who are not getting minimum assistance in our country with
lack of knowledge about autism and many other mental disabilities and
this work will not only help children with autism but also those with
other mental disabilities. But will we be performing surgery on the
children? Will we be invading them with the brain implants? Will we be
constantly connecting them with a computer? No.
Posted by
Akshara Initiative's news and updates team,
news and updates team,
India,
India.