Build your own brain: $30M dollar project can 'reprogram' behavior through neuron manipulation

Monday, August 22, 2016 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: neuron stimulation, behavior, personality

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(NaturalNews) What if you could build your own brain by undergoing a procedure that activates certain neurons, thereby controlling your future behavior? What if you could choose your personality traits? What if that neuron manipulation technology was already in place and being used on people's brains without their knowledge? What if the technology could be applied so as to control the behavior of entire populations of people, directing them to follow orders with no resistance? What if this technology could reverse neurological damage and help people recover from conditions such as epilepsy?

These are important questions to ask, as scientists at Columbia University in New York unveil a powerful new light technology that can control the minds of living creatures. This "brain-mapping" project, the U.S. BRAIN Initiative, has successfully been used to manipulate behavior and thinking processes in living organisms. This $300 million project, led by neuroscience professor Rafael Yuste, has the potential to help millions of people who suffer from neurological conditions such as epilepsy. However, it also has the potential to change the trajectory of one's own personality and the cognitive factors that drive it.

Activating specific neurons to trigger new behavior patterns

The therapy involves particular light-sensitive proteins which are administered into the cells. As the proteins penetrate the cells, special ultra-thin light beams are applied. These light beams make contact with the neuron inside and activate it. This activation of the neuron sets off a chain of events, turning on an "ensemble" of neurons that set off a chain of events in the brain. The team of scientists discovered that the ensuing effect could even be "reactivated at later time points without interfering with endogenous circuitry." Through this same pathway, the scientists were even capable of restoring hearing and sight to rodents that had lost those senses. Even though the scientists were only altering 20 of 100 million neurons in the rodents' brains, they could effectively alter their entire behavior. The change of just a cluster of neurons could provide the rodents with entirely new mental images.

Could this technology alter human personalities?

How might this technology be used to help soldiers unlearn what they have seen in war, to help them heal from post traumatic stress disorder? How might this technology be applied to changing the thinking patterns of those who have been abused? How might history be forgotten as this "memory serum" activates new areas of the brain, allowing people to forget traumatic experiences? The study's lead author says, "These methods to read and write activity into the living brain will have a major impact in neuroscience and medicine."

The alterations in neuron activity set off a sequence of changes that reroute the brain's future actions and one's personality traits. This can be a good concept for healing, activating neurons that spark harmony and positive outlooks. However, this technology could also remove people from their life experiences. How might this change a person's brain in a way that steals their discernment and passion for how they interact with the world around them?

Sources include:

RT.com

Science.NaturalNews.com