A new study by MIT researchers suggests that, contrary to previous findings, the human brain may store short-term and long-term memories at the same time, reports Andy Rosen for The Boston Globe. Rosen writes that the findings could “lead toward a better understanding of memory diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
Meg Tirrell of CNBC spotlights research by Prof. Li-Huei Tsai that shows that flashing lights could be used as a non-invasive treatment method for Alzheimer’s disease. Tsai and her colleagues found that flashing light could potentially be used to restore gamma rhythms in the brain, which are often impaired in people with Alzheimer’s.
Wired reporter Nicola Davison spotlights the work of graduate student Dheeraj Roy, whose research is focused on developing new techniques to help Alzheimer’s patients remember lost memories. Davison writes that Roy’s findings offer a potential “strategy for improving memory that could go beyond the modest benefit of available drugs.”
Postdoc Matthew Peterson speaks with WGBH reporter Edgar Herwick about why humans make eye contact. Peterson explains that humans are not good at judging where they are looking when talking to others, adding that the information we use is “highly concentrated in the eye region. So even if we're not looking at the eyes directly, we're using the eyes."
Prof. Daniela Rus speaks to the BBC’s Gareth Mitchell about the robots developed by CSAIL that can modify their behavior based on brain waves detected by a human operator. “We imagine operating prosthetic devices, a wheelchair, even autonomous vehicles,” says Prof. Rus.
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to correct their mistakes based on input from the brainwaves of human operators, reports Wired’s Matt Simon. “It’s a new way of controlling the robot,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, “in the sense that we aim to have the robot adapt to what the human would like to do.”
Anthony Cuthbertson of Newsweek writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to change their actions based on feedback from the brain waves of a human operator. “Imagine robots or smartphones that could immediately correct themselves when you realize they’re making a mistake,” says PhD candidate Joseph DelPreto.
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to detect brain signals generated by human operators, writes Oscar Williams of Huffington Post. The researchers hope the new system could “pave the way for more seamless interactions between robots and humans.”
A feedback system developed by CSAIL researchers allows humans to correct a robot’s mistakes using brain signals, writes Janet Burns for Forbes. The system could be used as a “communication method for those who can't use verbal means, such as immobilized or even 'locked in' victims of paralysis,” explains Burns.
MIT researchers have developed a device that allows humans to guide robots using brainwaves, reports Clive Cookson for the Financial Times. The prototype brain-computer interface “enables a human observer to transmit an immediate error message to a robot, telling it to fix a mistake when it does something wrong.”
New Scientist reporter Matt Reynolds writes that MIT researchers have developed a new brain-computer interface that enables people to correct robots’ mistakes using brain signals. “We’re taking baby steps towards having machines learn about us, and having them adjust to what we think,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL.
Boston Globe reporter Andy Rosen writes about a new MIT study examining how the brain perceives rhythm that finds people tend to reorganize random series of beats into familiar patterns. “We think that these biases on rhythm, they probably are really important to how you hear music,” explains Prof. Josh McDermott.
MIT researchers have found similarities in how the brains of babies and adults respond to visual information, reports Courtney Humphries for The Atlantic. “Every region that we knew about in adults [with] a preference for faces or scenes has that same preference in babies 4 to 6 months old,” explains Prof. Rebecca Saxe.
The Boston Globe Magazine’s list of some of the most innovative ideas, people, and companies of 2016 features graduate student Dheeraj Roy, whose research suggests that one day optogenetics could potentially be used to help stimulate memories in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
MIT researchers have found that reduced plasticity in the brains of people with dyslexia may explain why they experience difficulties with reading and with processing spoken speech, writes Kevin Murnane of Forbes. Murnane explains that the findings “indicate that dyslexia is not just about reading. It involves a reduction in neural adaptation to a variety of perceptual stimuli.”