Understand the principles of Optogenetics (Scientific Method of the Year, 2010) in 3 minutes — Optogenetics is a biological method of controlling cells with light beams. The technique, developed by MIT scientists among others, allows for control of individual brain cells by general activation, inhibition, or even controlling intracellular processes. As the name Optogenetics suggests, it’s a two-part process. Opto- comes from the Greek term…

Understand how a simple helmet can transfer your thoughts into computer commands Why classification? That’s a great question! Classification of biomedical signals is essential in building Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to distinguish between different mental actions. A higher resolution of signal classification is proportional to the number of mental commands a…

An introduction to signal processing of neural recordings for Brain-Computer Interfaces Without proper signal processing, recorded data from the electrical activity of the brain, won’t be of much use. For the sake of simplicity, this article will mainly focus on signal processing for EEG recordings. (although much of it is transferrable) EEG (and in general, other neural recording methods) give very…

An introduction to signal acquisition with invasive neural recording techniques — Signal acquisition is arguably the most important step in building devices that interact with the brain In this post, I will discuss invasive recording techniques and the acquired brain signals that are used in invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCI). The cons and pros of invasive BCIs. …

I’m now into the second week of my membership of medium and every day I’ve witnessed proclaimed X-step-guides into ways of becoming a better/more productive/healthier individual polluting my frontpage. And it’s all ‘backed by SCIENCE’!?! It’s time to call BS. Writers, whether on tabloids & magazines, book authors, or bloggers here at medium, take science hostage in order to attract readers in the pursuit of financial gain. It’s problematic. Here’s why:

Understand the basic principles underlying the most hyped emerging field of neuroscience: neurotechnology Neural engineering and neurotechnology are interdisciplinary fields utilizing a vast series of scientific fields including neuroscience, biomedical signal processing, nanotechnology, electrical engineering, clinical medicine, computer science, genetics, and the list go on… The goal is to discover and engineer new ways of understanding, repairing, or enhancing the properties of neural…

(Un)professional treatment of self-harming patients is a sad reality It is almost always an unnecessarily complicated experience for psychiatric patients to interact with non-psychiatric departments - especially the ER - when the underlying reason for the visit or consult is a psychiatric condition. And it’s my own colleagues, the medical community, who are to blame. We are harming the self-harmed.