Scientists Explain How Monkey ‘Mind Control’ Could Help Humans Quit Drug Addiction

The research team believes that their ‘neuromodulation’ technique could, after further study and development, be used to treat brain disorders and drug addiction in humans.

A group of scientists from the University of Utah and Stanford University succeeded in controlling the choice behaviours of two monkeys by targeting specific parts of their brains with ultrasound waves, according to a research paper published on Wednesday by the journal Science Advances.

The team delivered inaudible, high frequency sound waves to the brains of the two animals by means of a non-invasive instrument similar to an ultrasound wand used in medical scans.

The monkeys’ choice behaviour soon changed after the scientists remotely targeted an area of the frontal cortex of their brains, an area responsible for eye movement, with low-intensity ultrasonic waves. The waves were said to have activated certain neurons, enabling the research team to make the animal look either left or right.

According to the research paper, when an area called the left frontal eye field was targeted, the monkeys look to the right, and when the opposite field was targeted, the animals looked the other side.

By zapping the motor cortex, which is not involved in perceptual choice behaviour, the team noticed there were no effects on the monkeys’ choice.

The researchers suggest there may be “tantalizing opportunities” of applying this technique to change human behaviour after pinpointing circuits involved in different brain disorders, such as those driving a person’s craving for an addictive drug.

What distinguishes this approach is that it is not invasive, unlike other existing neuromodulation techniques, as it targets only certain parts of the brain, suggested the lead author of the paper, Jan Kubanek, an assistant professor in biomedical engineering at the University of Utah.

Sourse: sputniknews.com