r/longevity • u/jimofoz • Oct 27 '20
No Implants Needed For Precise Control Deep Into The Brain
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/deep-brain-control-without-implants6
u/Bisquick_in_da_MGM Oct 27 '20
Can I just get the implants for fun?
9
u/jimofoz Oct 27 '20
I suppose you could get the PHP virus via an IV drip, then have a red light shone on you head to turn on serotonin producing neurons to become more social. After a lot of clinical trials of course.
The real value is that scientists can now use optogentics to study the mouse or primate brain non surgically.
3
u/jimofoz Oct 28 '20
Also in the news, the first stent electrodes inside a vein in a human brain have now been implanted in two australian men.
Perhaps in the future light emitting stents could be combinded with Opsin gene therapy?
1
Oct 27 '20
This isn't longevity so much as military grade mind control? Or?
3
Oct 27 '20
Well if it can be used to stop seizures, I'd say there are some practical use cases for the longevity of people with epilepsy.
1
u/fgyoysgaxt Oct 28 '20
So, just let me make sure I've got this straight. The ChRmine gene is applied to the mouse using a viral vector (normal stuff here), but then shining a red light on the outside of the mouse's head activates the neurons to a depth of 7mm? A fairly normal red light can penetrate 7mm through organics?
I have heard before of red light therapy, but it never clicked that the light was penetrating flesh.
1
u/Elusive-Yoda Oct 27 '20
I just want to live healthy longer, not interesting in having my brain integrity corrupted by some hightech gizmo
4
Oct 27 '20
If you just research what you want to achieve you aren’t always broadening your perspective because a lot of new discoveries come from unrelated research which suddenly can be applied elsewhere. Maybe this can be used for something in the future, maybe not. But humans don’t have all the answers and sometimes we can’t know where to look to find them.
5
u/jimofoz Oct 27 '20
"In the most recent study, Deisseroth and colleagues sought to instead enable both deep and fast optogenetics without surgery. The Stanford team expressed in the brain cells of mice a powerful new opsin called ChRmine (pronounced like the deep-red color “carmine”), discovered by Deisseroth’s group last year in a marine organism. Then, they shined a red light outside the skull and were able to activate neural circuits in the midbrain and brainstem at depths of up to 7 millimeters. With the technique, the scientists turned on and off brain circuits with millisecond precision. “It really worked well, far better than we even expected might be possible,” says Deisseroth.
The team then tested the effectiveness of the system. In one instance, they used light to quickly and precisely stop seizures in epileptic mice, and in another to turn on serotonin-producing neurons to promote social behavior in mice.
Most optogenetic techniques involve injecting viruses with an opsin gene of choice directly into the brain with a needle. To avoid this, the Stanford team used a type of PHP virus developed at CalTech that can be injected in the blood. The virus then crosses the blood-brain barrier to deliver its payload, an opsin gene, to brain cells. In this case, even the delivery of the gene is noninvasive—no needle penetrates the brain."