Release date: 2014-04-28 Brain-computer interfaces (BMIs) not only have many applications in neurology, but are also powerful tools for studying the overall dynamics of neurons. But in any actual interface, the number of record sites available is limited, and the researchers want to get as complete a signal as possible from each site. To build a better brain-computer interface, researchers began to look deeper into activities below the neuron excitation threshold. Source: Bio 360 Compact Air Hose Reel,Retractable Air Hose Reel,Retractable Air Compressor Hose,Small Retractable Air Hose Reel NINGBO QIKAI ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD , https://www.hosereelqikai.com
Recently, a research team at the University of California, Berkeley, is trying to use those smaller potentials as indicators of willingness to study the brain's willingness in learning. These indicators are hidden in the calcium signal.
The team is led by electrical engineer Jose Carmena. The researchers trained mice to adjust their neuronal excitability in response to pitch, targeting mice's layer II-III neurons, which form the motor cortex or somatosensory cortex of mice. It is specifically expressed by the gene-encoded calcium index gCaMP6f. The researchers used two-photon imaging to record this calcium index signal, which was able to record every cell in the 150 x 150 square micron view. They used the calcium signal associated with the peak to train the mouse to manipulate the sound cursor. As a result, the mice learned the task in just a few days and performed better and better in the following time. The findings were published in the recently published journal Nature Neuroscience.
The researchers explained that there are many problems with the peaks produced by cortical pyramidal cells alone. Potential or ion current below the threshold is related to the peak behavior of the cell, but this is not always the case. For example, brainstem eye movement neurons suddenly discharge more than 300 Hz, just to "attract" the attention of the eye; and auditory neurons produce roughly the same pulse in order to distinguish a particular tone. A pyramidal cell may be excited every few seconds until it does something completely different, and they choose to discharge. If the dendritic and synaptic discharge processes of pyramidal cells are expected to remain at approximately the same frequency, it is clear that such results will lose a lot of information.
Those exceptional pyramidal cell peaks may be more useful. They may reflect that one of the hundreds of flies flew to a horse, causing the horse to suddenly jump back; perhaps in a group of orangutans, the orangutans are fighting, and a little orangutan is playing with Dad. After the fire broke out, the orangutan dad suddenly jumped to chase this nasty little guy. Pyramidal cells may also produce spikes on their own, such as ringing a meal.
The paper also states that only the process of recording peaks from the overall response to cortical processing information is recorded. If you don't take into account a variety of rich neuron phenomena, it is very difficult to re-build an algorithm that splicing together the stimulus, or the speculation of internal intent.
Although it takes a lot of experimental hardware to transfer experiments to humans, the new research provides some basic new clues for scientists to learn about the individual's wishes from the brain.