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The Brain and Mind

The Human Brain

The Brain

What can I say about the human brain? Without it, nothing. With it, not much either, sorry. It is a fairly complicated organ that is rarely mentioned in my main source of sensory input--TV sitcoms.

I am doing my best to understand more about the brain, however, as it is central not only to understanding my boss's mood swings, but also to future issues like transhumanism and The Singularity.

The Mind

Then there is the human mind. This is something I feel more confident writing about, as I have had my own thoughts as far back as I can remember. But seriously, even after hours of exhaustive research, I still found philosophies of the mind to be as foggy as a morning hangover. How does the brain's processes generate the stream of consciousness we call the mind? I'm not sure anyone can answer this question, because as far as I can tell, no one seems to agree on what consciousness is.

That may change. Scientists and researchers are learning more about the way the brain-mind works through continual advances in imaging techniques and an increasing knowledge of how things work at the atomic level. Artificial intelligence experts are studying processes of the brain such as reasoning and perception, to help recreate these human traits in machines.

The human brain is the most complex structure known in the universe and I doubt that it will ever be explained to me in a half-hour television comedy. So I will continue to seek out new information and watch for the latest brain-mind breakthroughs. Simply because the more I know about the human brain, the more I understand about humanity. 

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. Neuroscience is at the frontier of investigation of the brain and mind. The study of the brain is becoming the cornerstone in understanding how we perceive and interact with the external world and, in particular, how human experience and human biology influence each other.

Neuroscience - Wikipedia

Brain to Robot

An international team of researchers have developed a system that combines a brain-computer interface with eye tracking glasses to control the movement of a robotic arm.

Brain2Robot

Smart Drugs

Researchers are studying ways to improve memory, learning and other mental abilities by using substances called cognitive enhancers or smart drugs.

Smart Drugs
New nootropics / cognitive enhancers
Drugs may boost your brain power
Brain-boost drugs 'to be common'
Cognitive Enhancement

Brainy links

Brain Imaging Reveals Joys of Giving
Fun Facts About The Brain
Brain Facts
The Technicolor Brain
Where in the Brain Lies Intelligence?
A Working Brain Model
This Is a Computer on Your Brain
MEMS-based (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) brain-computer interface
 

 

Brain-Machine Interface

Brain machine interfaces (BMIs), allow for activity in the brain to be sent to, or received from, a computer.

Some BMIs use sensors mounted in a removable cap or MRI technology to read signals from the brain. Others connect directly to the surface of the brain, through tiny wires and an array of micro-electrodes. BMIs can also be entirely implanted in the brain.


Image courtesy of Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw,
Wadsworth Center, Albany, New York

Brain machine interfaces are currently assisting paralyzed patients communicate, control robotic arms, computers and other devices. In the future, BMIs could provide a path to brain enhancement and memory upload/download.

Brain Computer Interfaces

Technology Can Be Operated By Thought

'BrainGate' Brain-Machine-Interface takes shape

Brain-computer interface - Wikipedia

New Brain-Machine Interface

Model train controlled via brain-machine interface

Is this the bionic man?

Writing with the Mental Typewriter

Mind power allows disabled to take a virtual stroll

Brain-computer and brain-machine interface

The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)

Cognitive Technology

The Brain-Computer Interface Project

Paralyzed man's mind is 'read'

Teaching computers to read minds

Virtual world sharpens mind-control

Brain-Computer Interfaces Come Home

Brain Chip

This article from the University of Florida discusses the development of a neuroprosthetic, a brain chip that interfaces directly with the brain, that could help prevent seizures or allow someone to control an artificial arm by thinking about it.

Brain Chip

Brain Frees

Powerful lie detection tools may someday surpass the accuracy of the polygraph and permanently change how suspects are convicted -- and freed.

Lie Detection

Brain Backup

Some experts predict that by the year 2050, computers will have the capacity to store all of the information contained in the human brain. For those that can afford immortality, their brains could be scanned and downloaded to machines, perhaps to be uploaded to a new brain.

Brain downloads 'possible by 2050'

A new NASA-developed computing device allows machines to work much like the brain. This technology may allow fast-thinking machines to make decisions based on what they see.

A Computer Like Your Brain

Brain Awareness Week is a series of events held around the world to increase public awareness about the brain.

Brain Awareness Week


 

 

References

Article

Sources

The Human Brain

Article by  futureforall.org
Image courtesy of WriterHound and Wikipedia

Brain-Machine Interface

Article by  futureforall.org

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