Speeding Up Physical Therapy With ‘Matrix’-Like Brain Training? It Isn’t So Far Fetched

Don't we all want Spock-like mind-meld capabilities?

A new article published in Singularity shows new research from Duke University on this exact topic, well not really but close. The article states, "One of the hardest things for motor-impaired patients is to generate the correct brain signals to help them recover efficiently." The current best option for these patients is physical therapy, in which they have to re-learn how to perform these tasks by essentially re-wiring their brains. This is an extremely difficult task which can take months if not years. The team at Duke University is working on a new technique in which the physical therapist's brain would send signals directly to the patient's brain, which would induce learning through proper electrical patterns. 

The researchers first used a system called Brainet, which is essentially when you hook the brain of a mouse up to an organic computer and have them preform computer based tasks. The article states, "“We found that when the animals worked on the same computer-based task, their brain waves synchronized,” said Amol Yadav, a PhD student who conducted the current study. We think the neural activation pattern of one animal is influencing all others, he said." 

To test this hypothesis they started using Dorsal Column Stimulation (DCS) where they implant an electrode on a patients spinal cord. They then taught the rates to discriminate between two different pulses, one to turn right and one to turn left. After only 11 sessions with stimulation and reward the rats were able to discriminate between the pulses with 95% accuracy. They then placed an encoder rat in a maze with touch cues and recorded the electric pulses the rat's brain gave off. These pulses where then encoded through the DCS system on a receiver rat and this rat was placed in a maze without cues. Within 12 sessions this receiver rat could complete the maze successfully 70% of the time. The team also found independent adaptations in multiple areas responsible for sensory and motor processing. One of the researchers stated, "“This really suggests to us that complex plasticity is occurring at the level of the Brainet,” said Yadav. That is, the brain activity of the first rat actually reshaped the second rat’s neural pathways to some degree, passing on physical learning from brain to pulse generator to spinal column—and then to the second rat’s brain itself."

I believe this study is amazing as it shows the possibly of one day giving patients a new way to learn and thus speeding up their recovery and potentially making it less painful. I am currently applying to physical therapy school and I think this would be a great tool for physical therapists to be able to call upon when faced with severe injuries that normally would take months of pain and frustration on the clients part to overcome. This could even potentially be used to overcome the obstacles in a diseased brain to learning, such as in Parkinson's Disease. This stimulation technique could potentially bypass the diseased parts of the brain to allow learning to happen again and allow these patients to regain functions they currently are incapable of. This technology is definitely not going to be useable any time in the near future but I think it is worth it to do the research and see if it is feasible and safe. 

Reference:

Fan, S. (2015, October 27). Speeding Up Physical Therapy With 'Matrix'-Like Brain Training? It Isn't So Far Fetched - Singularity HUB. Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://singularityhub.com/2015/10/27/speeding-up-physical-therapy-with-matrix-like-brain-training-it-isnt-so-far-fetched/