How to control someone else's arm with your brain | Greg Gage

Summary

Greg Gage, a neuroscientist, highlights the importance of making neuroscience accessible to everyone. He discusses the challenges of studying the brain due to expensive equipment and a lack of widespread education. To address this, Gage and his team founded Backyard Brains, creating affordable DIY neuroscience tools. During a live demonstration, Gage shows how brain activity can be measured and even manipulated, allowing one volunteer to control another's hand using brain signals. His goal is to spark a 'neuro-revolution' by inspiring broader interest in brain science and making it more accessible to students and amateurs alike.

Takeaways

• 😀 The brain is a complex and fascinating organ, but its study is limited due to the high cost and complexity of the equipment required for research.
• 😀 Neuroscience is not commonly taught in schools, even though understanding the brain is essential for addressing neurological disorders that affect 1 in 5 people worldwide.
• 😀 The lack of cures for neurological disorders calls for more widespread education and engagement with neuroscience, especially at an earlier stage in education.
• 😀 Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo sought to make neuroscience more accessible by creating affordable, DIY equipment for studying the brain.
• 😀 Gage co-founded Backyard Brains, a company that produces accessible neuroscience tools for amateurs and students to explore brain science.
• 😀 In a demonstration, Gage explains how motor signals from the brain are recorded from the arm, showcasing the brain's control over muscle movement.
• 😀 Electrical signals from the brain travel down the spinal cord to the muscles, and the equipment captures these signals as motor unit activity.
• 😀 The demonstration features a real-time display of the electrical activity in the brain as a volunteer moves their arm, showing the connection between brain and muscle.
• 😀 A second volunteer, Miguel, participates in a demonstration where brain signals controlling his hand are transmitted to another person's hand, effectively hijacking motor control.
• 😀 The experiment shows how the brain’s electrical signals can be copied and sent to another person, allowing one person’s brain to control the movements of another’s hand.
• 😀 This kind of human-to-human interface represents a fascinating example of neurotechnology, demonstrating the potential for neuroscience applications in both research and practical scenarios.

Q & A

Why is neuroscience not taught in schools, according to the speaker?

Neuroscience is not commonly taught in schools because the equipment required to study the brain is complex and expensive, which makes it only accessible to major universities and large institutions.

What is the challenge mentioned by the speaker regarding access to brain research tools?

The challenge is that the equipment used to study the brain is so complex and expensive that it's generally only available at major universities and large institutions, limiting access for others.

What does the speaker believe should be done to improve the understanding of neuroscience?

The speaker believes that neuroscience education should begin earlier in the education process so that students can be inspired to potentially become brain scientists in the future.

What initiative did the speaker and his lab mate take to make neuroscience more accessible?

The speaker and his lab mate, Tim Marzullo, founded a company called Backyard Brains, which develops DIY neuroscience equipment that is affordable and simple enough for amateurs and students to use.

What type of demonstration does the speaker give to the audience?

The speaker demonstrates how electrical signals from the brain control motor functions, using volunteers to show how brain activity can be recorded and even transferred to manipulate another person's movements.

How does the speaker explain the brain's control over the body during the demonstration?

The speaker explains that the brain sends electrical and chemical signals through neurons to control muscles. By recording these signals from the arm, the speaker shows how motor signals are generated by the brain's motor cortex and transmitted to the muscles.

What role do the electrodes play in the demonstration?

The electrodes are placed on the volunteer’s arm to detect electrical signals from the motor neurons. These signals represent the brain's electrical activity, which controls muscle movement.

What is the significance of the 'motor unit' displayed during the demonstration?

The 'motor unit' represents the electrical activity from the motor neurons as they send signals to muscles. This activity is visualized and demonstrated to the audience to show how the brain communicates with the body.

What experiment is done with two volunteers during the demonstration?

The speaker uses a second volunteer to demonstrate how the brain's electrical signals can be transferred to another person's muscles, effectively 'controlling' their movements by stimulating their nerves using the signals from the first volunteer’s brain.

What happens when the speaker takes control of the second volunteer's hand?

The speaker manipulates the second volunteer’s hand using brain signals from the first volunteer, demonstrating the concept of human-to-human control through the interface of brain activity and electrical stimulation.

What is the broader message the speaker is trying to convey through these demonstrations?

The speaker is highlighting the potential of affordable, accessible neuroscience tools and the importance of early education in neuroscience, aiming to encourage a new generation of brain scientists and researchers.