The mind-reading devices that can free paralysed muscles
Technologies that restore movement and the sense of touch are helping people to overcome the physical effects of stroke and spinal-cord injury.
When Your Bladder or Bowels Control Your Life
Everybody has to go. For those of us with neurological conditions like spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, or even complications from a stroke, you can often feel tethered to the toilet. In fact, bladder and bowel control consistently rank among the most important functions to regain among people living with spinal cord injury, according to…
Brain health collaboration wins grants
A city-wide initiative that aims to make Northeast Ohio an epicenter of brain health research and care has won $1.5 million in support from The Cleveland Foundation. Read full story…
Hand-in-Glove Rehab
New electrical stimulation therapy may improve hand function after stroke Read full story…
A paralyzed monkey can walk again, thanks to a wireless ‘brain-computer’ interface
A new report in Nature gives hopeful news about how we could recover from paralyzing spinal cord injuries in the future. Researchers describe a rhesus monkey regaining the use of its leg just six days after a paralyzing injury. The key is a wireless “brain-computer” interface, connecting an implant in the monkey’s brain to an…
Unraveling How a Brain Works, Block by High-tech Block
Psychologists have long used building blocks to assess cognitive skills. But researchers at Case Western Reserve University are imbedding the blocks with technology that may provide a clearer view of problems a child or adult may suffer due to developmental disabilities, brain trauma or dementia. Read full story…
The Neuroscientist Who’s Building a Better Memory for Humans
In an episode of the dystopian near-future series, Black Mirror, a small, implantable device behind the ear grants the ability to remember, access, and replay every moment of your life in perfect detail, like a movie right before your eyes. Read full story…
Wireless Tech Enables Paralyzed Monkey to Walk Again
A Swiss research team reported in Nature this week that they wired a monkey to walk again on a leg that had been paralyzed, a mere six days after the paralyzing spinal cord injury. The treatment? A brain-computer interface connecting the monkey’s motor cortex to an electrical stimulation device on the spine. With the device,…
New understanding of neural language gives amputees ability to discern light touch to intense pressure
Electrical stimulation mimics natural touch, enabling amputees to feel a range of intensity that allows them to hold a child’s hand, precisely operate machinery and more Read full story…
Brain chips let a paralyzed man feel touch through a robotic arm
Nathan Copeland hasn’t been able to move his legs or hands since he broke his neck in a car accident more than a decade ago. But now that scientists have implanted four chips in his brain, Copeland can control a robotic arm with his mind and feel when someone touches its fingers. This is the…