- A deep brain stimulation implant has been created by researchers at Stanford University
- It aims to stimulate activity between regions responsible for memory and thinking
A brain implant designed for people with head injuries has proven so successful in trials that participants refused to turn the device off.
The deep brain stimulation implant, created by researchers at Stanford University to help people with head injuries regain function, attempts to stimulate activity between the areas of the brain responsible for memory, thinking, problem solving and consciousness learning.
Five people with head injuries reported that using the device during the trial allowed them to concentrate, remember, drive and get through the day without having to take a nap.
And it proved so effective that two randomly selected participants refused to turn off the device.
Trial participants were selected based on their injuries, with those who took part having previously recovered from comas.
The deep brain stimulation implant attempts to stimulate activity between the areas of the brain responsible for memory, thinking, problem solving and learning consciousness (Stock Image)
It was created by researchers at Stanford University to help people with head injuries regain function (Stock Image)
“In these patients, those pathways are largely intact, but everything is down-regulated,” says Dr. Jaimie Henderson, professor of neurosurgery. the Telegraph.
“It's like the lights have dimmed and there's just not enough electricity to turn them back on.”
By introducing electrical stimulation to specific parts of the brain, researchers hoped to turn the lights back on. They used virtual models of each of the participants' brains to test stimulation in different areas.
The devices were then implanted into the brains of participants between the ages of 22 and 60. They were then turned on twelve hours a day for 90 days.
Researchers say that at the end of the trial, participants' mental processing speed improved by an average of 32 percent.
When one participant turned off his device for three weeks, his processing power dropped by 34 percent.
One participant said they had seen a dramatic improvement in their function since receiving the implant.
“I don't trip anymore,” they said. 'I can remember how much money is in my bank account. I couldn't read, but after the implant I bought a book.'
Dr. Nicholas Schiff, a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-senior author of the study, told the Telegraph that the idea is to take the research from the “pioneer moment” to therapy.