About NEUCRIN

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.


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Akshara Initiative's news and updates team,
news and updates team,
India,
India.