Submitted by lughnasadh t3_zbmall in Futurology
Reply to comment by lughnasadh in Researchers claim a human trial with 90 people has shown a simple laser therapy improves short-term memory by 25%. The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), has had claims in previous studies to also improve reaction times, accuracy and attention by lughnasadh
> Clearly, if this is to become a useful therapy then answers will be needed there.
Nope. The mechanism by which antidepressants work is unknown, but still used in therapy.
> It's thought that antidepressants work by increasing neurotransmitters. These are chemicals in the brain like serotonin and noradrenaline. They can improve mood and emotion, although this process isn't fully understood. Increasing levels of neurotransmitters can also disrupt pain signals sent by nerves.
We don’t even fully understand how acetaminophen/Tylenol works lol.
Or anesthesia for that matter
Anesthesiologist here.
Yes and no. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of drugs that can be used to induce anesthesia. All of the common intravenous drugs that I can think of have well-studied mechanisms of action that at least mostly explain their effects. The volatile anesthetics (ie those that are vaporized and inhaled) are not as well understood. Volatile anesthetics were also the first meds used to induce surgical anesthesia (ether), so it's somewhat surprising they have eluded our understanding for so long. We know a lot about the effects these drugs have on different organ systems, and there are some studies that shed light on different mechanistic elements, but overall their mechanism remains controversial and unclear
I thought we* recently figured that one out.
*not me
Wow really
That's not the same. The mechanism is the change in neurotransmitters. The interactions may be less known, but the mechanism is well known as one that inhibitd reuptake of serotonin, at least for SSRIs. It's in the name
As someone with epilepsy, you would think that I would be so on board to be able to zap some memory space back in there. Like holy shit that would be awesome!
HOWEVER, no way. This, Elon's stupid microchip idea.. we are so far away from comprehending the brain. A lot of people want to write off their poor memory skills on adhd. I get that, believe me. It takes training, practice, and diligence to build memory skills. People just want to cut corners and zap the brain?
Ever have a seizure before?
>Ever have a seizure before?
Ever seen what deep brain stimulators have been doing for Parkinson's patients for the last 2 decades or so?
The biggest problem with Neuralink is that all the marketing and attention goes to a company that isn't particularly remarkable. It's a very exciting field that can make huge improvements to patient quality of life. Neuralink is not the company to pay attention to - look into what the academic labs are doing.
Equating targeted stimulation protocols to having a seizure reeks of ignorance of the field. Especially when brain stimulation has been an approved treatment strategy for Parkinson's and Essential Tremors for, at least 2 decades now.
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