Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Love in the Time of Lockdown – Qrius

Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino, Concordia University

Lately, the one topic the entire world is concerned about is the novel coronavirus.

In line with that, as a sex positive neuroscience sex researcher, I am writing this article with a couple of goals: to inform readers how sex relates to the current pandemic, and to prevent the spread of myths and misinformation in an agitated social environment.

Given the common modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, engaging in certain types of sexual activities may risk spreading the virus. However, expecting people to abstain from sex during times of isolation is unrealistic.

In the current situation, since sex is not a priority as a topic of discussion, misinformation can be easily fostered. People could unwillingly exacerbate the spread of the virus if they do not take the necessary precautions.

So, after washing our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, lets get down to business!

Can the coronavirus be transmitted sexually? The answer is simple: we do not know. At the moment, there is no reliable research, official communication or scientific report from trusted authorities.

Sexual transmission is not the same as contracting the virus from your sexual partner. You can easily contract the virus from an infected sexual partner by activities like kissing just not through sexual transmission. That term is defined as transmission through sexual contact and fluids including vaginal, oral and anal sex.

Christian Lindmeier, a spokesperson for WHO the World Health Organization told the New York Times that coronaviruses are not typically sexually transmitted. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are seven types of coronaviruses, all of which typically affect the respiratory tract in humans.

Other infectious disease experts support these observations. But the coronavirus may not be limited to the respiratory tract. There is some evidence that it has been found in the feces of infected patients, although the CDC expects the risk of transmission is low.

The novel coranavirus spreads via droplets that are expelled when infected people exhale, cough or sneeze. Others become infected by inhaling these droplets, or touching them on a surface and then touching their face. Thus, chances of getting the virus through sexual activities with an infected person is almost certain.

Since the virus is present in respiratory secretions, it is easy to assume almost any sexual practice would lead to its transmission due to close contact. This is not the time to have that sexy social gathering.

The executive director of the American adult industry workers coalition, Michelle L. LeBlanc, called for a voluntary shutdown of all adult entertainment productions during the pandemic to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Sexual behaviour is a realm where variety is highly valued. Although it is practically impossible to ask people not to have sex, perhaps we could help by suggesting simple and small experimenting?

Since you can be infected with the virus and not have symptoms, the only reliable way to know if you or your partner are infected is through testing. If you and your partner have no symptoms and have stayed at home, then sex likely poses no risk.

We can contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic by taking a few precautions. We can also learn to thrive differently in times of sexual need. Here are a few general recommendations to keep in mind that can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

First and foremost, wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water before and after you do anything.

Think of it as the new foreplay in the time of isolation!

If you think you need a face mask, most likely you dont. Mask use is recommended by WHO only in specific cases. There is evidence that some women in Japan have worn face masks as a way to increase their attractiveness by hiding their faces when not wearing makeup. However, a study of this practice showed that for some, face masks decrease facial attractiveness.

You can further minimize the risk of contagion by using condoms, dental dams or latex gloves. These may not be your cup of tea, but desperate times calls for fun measures.

The acts associated with sexual intimacy can have as many variations and alternatives as the imagination can conceive. Instead of kissing and sexual intercourse, try erotic massage, chat rooms, spooning, mutual masturbation, watching or reading erotica, watching your partner pleasure themselves, etc.

Rimming (mouth to anus) should be out of the picture completely.

Engaging in any form of sexual intercourse involves an unnecessary risk, especially when there is still no vaccine or medicine available to treat or prevent the disease.

Everybody knows we like what we cannot get. Refraining or abstaining from your favourite activities to minimize risk will only make them sweeter at the end, once the storm has passed.

It is essential to stay in tune with your partner, especially if you dont feel well or simply do not want to engage in any sexual activity. For the singles out there, just like some businesses are taking a toll due to the curfew, the dating pool may be hurt, too.

It is definitely not the best time to go on a Tinder date or expose yourself to unnecessary risks from new partners. If they really like you, they will wait. If you already have started engaging with people, keeping track of whom you have been with, where and when, is a good idea. There is no evidence that kissing through a mask is a safe practice.

The novel coronavirus is no joke, and it has already taken thousands of lives around the world and several lives in Canada. We all can do something to prevent the spread and keep those at risk safe.

Read reliable information. Do not panic. Stay indoors for now. Fear, rumours and misinformation spread quickly. Crucially, we need to trust the recommendations of scientists.

With appropriate efforts from our governments, scientists and our fellow humans, along with the right amount of patience, we will overcome this pandemic and hopefully will be able to go back to our regular lives. Maybe then, we can resume our more so-called dirty practices.

Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino, PhD, Behavioural Neuroscience, Concordia University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Love in the Time of Lockdown - Qrius

Neuroscience

Coronavirus: Education beyond the classroom and what to do with school-age kids – Stuff.co.nz

We've all seen the school-at-home schedules as the Covid-19 lockdown came into shape. There is no right or wrong way, so what are the options for parents of school-aged children? Josephine Franks and Warwick Rasmussen report.

Auckland mother Natalie Donaldson has spent the last 17 years homeschooling her five children.

Her children,now aged 13 to 21, are part of the fraction of Kiwi kids less than 1 per cent who are home educated on a normal school day. But when Term 2 officially starts on April 14, the school gates will stay bolted and all of New Zealand's schoolchildren will be learning from home.

SUPPLIED

Nalize Tozioz Browne says when she started homeschooling her son Jesse, 11, she had to realise she was a parent, not a teacher.

For parents juggling video meetings and new home office setups, it's a daunting prospect. Making your kids your first priority could actually play out in favour if you want to get work done, Donaldson said, especially if they are primary aged.

READ MORE:* Coronavirus: How to create a study space for your kids* Coronavirus: Parents urged to use balanced approach to learning as schools shut* Coronavirus: What you need to know about school and uni closures

"The younger they are, the more they just want you to spend time with them." She said parents were better off acknowledging this need and setting aside time in the morning for reading aloud and talking about how the child is feeling and what's planned for the day.

"If you try to do your things first, the children will get more upset.

"You're their safe person in this time and once they're content you'll be more able to do work."

Teenagers needed a different tack to manage their desire for independence with the reality of lockdown. It's helpful to discuss early on how much time they'll have to themselves, how much talking to friends on social media, how much time helping out around the house, Donaldson said.

Making sure they buy-in early on means they're more likely to stick to their responsibilities, she said.

Principal of Auckland's Hobsonville Point Secondary School, Maurie Abraham, said what the next few weeks needed was a "paring back" of expectations all round. His students will have a timetable to follow, but 80-minute blocks of learning will become 40 minutes, projects will be postponed, NCEA assessment put on hold.

Students will have four scheduled sessions each day, where they will log in to Google Classroom to see the work that's been set and go at their own pace. While the internet provided the jumping off point for each session, home learning wasn't just about sitting in front of a screen, Abraham said.

A PE lesson might mean completing fitness challenges around the house, or jogging to the highest nearby point, taking a photo and finding out its altitude.

SUPPLIED

The homeschooling Donaldson family: L-RJohn, Mark, Emily, Bethany, Natalie, James and Jeremy.

Or students might be given an idea for a meal they can plan and cook with whatever is in the pantry, and then be expected to interview family members over dinner. Students will also be journaling, reflecting on news they've consumed, how they can tell it's trustworthy and how they feel, expressing themselves using art, poetry or whatever medium they feel most comfortable with.

Abraham said he was aware of some schools running full face-to-face programmes online, but he was keen to avoid that.

"It's not schooling as normal, just online.

"We've got to stop thinking about how's their maths going, how's their English going, how's their science going?

"We've got to concentrate on wellbeing."

The reality was that some families would find it easier than others to keep learning going at home. For some, the next few weeks might bring job losses, financial trouble or illness, and schoolwork would not be the priority, Abraham said.

AMY BAKER/STUFF

Maurie Abraham, principal of Hobsonville Point Secondary School, says recreating school at home isn't the answer.

But if the lockdown only lasts four weeks, he said the impact on students' learning wouldn't be that great, especially as two weeks of that time was already scheduled holidays.

For parents wanting extra resources for learning at home, the Ministry of Education has launched two websites: Learning from Home and Ki te Ao Mrama. Parents can find activities to do with their children, sorted by age group and year level, including maths games, science experiments and a graphic novel on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Nalize Tozios Browne homeschools her 11-year-old son Jesse, but when they made the transition from mainstream school three years ago, they spent three months "unschooling".

That meant 12 weeks of doing nothing academically. Instead, they chatted and played, and Browne watched her son and got to know how he learns.

It's helpful for parents to see the next few weeks through that lens, she says. She spent those months realigning her expectations, realising she was a parent and not a teacher - even though she had taken on her son's education.

She runs a graphic design and website building business from their Auckland home, and says while it's a challenge balancing the two, it is possible if you're flexible.

Parents shouldn't feel bad if their work takes priority though. "If it's not working out for you to teach your child, let them draw or paint, or discover things in the garden.

"Even if they don't learn anything in a day school-wise, it's not time wasted."

Christchurch-based neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis said while the initial impulse for many parents was to set up a school-like schedule at home for theirchildren it wasn't the priority, especially in the early days of the lockdown.

"The thing they need to focus on is play. The children are really stressed out and the last thing they need is more stress from parents who might teach their children with a 1920s model rather than a 2020 model."

SUPPLIED

Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis.

He said that could mean rotelearning and scaring children into learning when many are already stressed out.

There is no 'one size fits all' approach. The key was making the learning child-led, rather than enforcing a rigid schedule.

"It might make the parents feel good, butit's not necessarily as important for the children.

"I would focus on play, I would focus on connection, I would focus on self-care."

There were also practical tasks that can be worked on.

"Can these kids make their bed, do they know how to make their own sandwiches?"

Wallis said parents didn't have to choose betweenroutine orfree play as "they are really two sides of the same coin".

It was good for childrento havepredictable parts of the day, such as consistent breakfast and bed times,but a big chunk of the day should be open-ended and free play especially for younger children.

"It's about listening to what your child initiates. If they're putting on their school uniform, and saying, 'have we got a bell' maybe they need that routine and predictability, and I would respond to that.

How parents and families approached the time locked down was crucial, Wallis said.

"If we all expect everybody to go crazy and get cabin fever then that's what will happen. If we all expect to get a much stronger sense of connection, and for us to finally learn to slow down and be present with our loved ones and give them our full attention then that will happen too.

"I think we can frame it positively and think maybe in four weeks we've got much stronger family units who communicate much better because they've had this time to connect and work through things and really be with each other. I think it's an experience that children are going to remember for the rest of their lives."

While this was the ideal scenario, Wallis said that would not be the case for everyone.

"In reality, there will obviously be the whole spectrum. Just coming together and being in an intense space for a family that is already dysfunctional, and then you have restricted the access to alcohol, that's often a dependency. That's a recipe for domestic violence. But I don't think we need to think that way for the whole country. I think the majority of people will in fact get a stronger sense of connection with their family and their loved ones and that will be a positive experience."

The thorny issue of screen time for children during this time was even more prominent.

"I think a practical, sensible approach iswhat the research tells us. Kids shouldhave a clear, predictable two-hour window every day where they'll be device-free. That two-hour period takes the kids out of the risk group of associations with anxiety and depression, where there is a correlation. I don't want parents to interpret that as the kid can be on it for 22 hours a day, I mean within a normal scheduled day, with the kids on and off devices.

Having the lockdown in March and April may be a minor blessing as far as getting outside more, but that didn't matter too much, Wallis said.

"Kids can actually get outside when the weather is complete s..., too. Embrace that. You can still put a jacket on."

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Coronavirus: Education beyond the classroom and what to do with school-age kids - Stuff.co.nz

Neuroscience

Pop Culture, Neuroscience, And COVID-19 – KPBS

Many people are turning to movies as distraction while sheltering at home. Neuroscientist Eric Leonardis suggests a couple of films that can be used to look at the coronavirus pandemic from a social dimension.

Aired: March 26, 2020 | Transcript

Many people are turning to movies as a distraction while sheltering at home. Neuroscientist Eric Leonardis suggests a couple of films that can be used to look at the coronavirus pandemic from a social dimension.

Leonardis is an instructor of cognitive science at UC San Diego and his field of expertise is as an emotion researcher.

"I study how humans and animals understand each other's emotional state by using multi-sensory cues from our social counterparts," Leonardis explained. "My research is broadly concerned with how the brain gives rise to emotion and social interactions and how emotions like panic and fear can spread through a population of humans and animals. So I won't be speaking necessarily about the biological aspects of COIVD-19 of these films, but instead the social dimensions and how language and emotions can spread through a population as well as viruses."

Leonardis is compiling a list of pandemic films for people to watch and I will be discussing the full list with him next week on my Cinema Junkie podcast. But here he highlights two of those films: John Carpenter's "The Thing" (1982) and Bruce McDonald's "Pontypool" (2008).

In the case of "The Thing," in which a shape-shifting parasitic alien can assume the appearance of its hosts, the inability to determine who is infected reflects current anxieties about how people can have the coronavirus and not show any signs of infection. In the movie, that leads to intense paranoia and anxiety.

"This inability to be able to tell what it is, this uncertainty or this ambiguity gives rise to these negative emotions that these people are experiencing," Leonardis said. "So this paranoia is very palpable in these cases."

A less well-known film that Leonardis recommends is "Pontypool," in which an infection is spread through language. For Leonardis this raises the intriguing notion that viruses need not necessarily be biological entities, that there are other types of entities that can spread in the same types of ways, as through words or emotions.

In the film, a doctor named Mendez starts to figure out what's going and concludes: "It's in words, not all words. Not all speaking, but in some. Some words are infected and it spreads out when the contaminated word is spoken. We are witnessing the emergence of a new arrangement for life and our language is its host ... if the bug enters us, it does not enter us by making contact with our eardrum. No, it enters us when we hear a word and understand it, understand it's when the word is understood that the virus takes hold and it copies itself in our understanding."

So it is a disease that infects the brain not in a biological way, but a cognitive one. And each person is susceptible to a different word as the point of infection.

"I think the fact that every brain is unique is a really important thing to me and the fact that there are words that you can say to certain people that can elicit widely different responses than others. So I guess the thing that really comes to mind with this point is that it kind of opens up to something like ideology," Leonardis said. "It's like if you hear the right sentence, it could radicalize you. It could make you join a crowd that's going to be in a mass panic and hysteria. I guess so. The way that I want to sort of analyze this part of the film and relate it to the current situation is that words actually have a huge impact on the way that people respond and the language that public officials use to describe what's going on can spread. And in this case, I think what we see is a lot of American leadership using a lot of racist and xenophobic rhetoric, using words like 'Chinese virus' or 'Wuhan virus.' And I think that that could lead to something like mass scale scapegoating of these others that have invaded our population. This is very classic 20th-century genocide speak. And I would say that racial discourse and language like this can spread just as in such a way. So it's like racial discourse in language like this can spread just like a virus and it can be just as if not more deadly."

"The Thing" is streaming on multiple services but "Pontypool" appears to only be available on iTunes.

Listen for my Cinema Junkie podcast next week with the full list of Leonardis' pandemic films.

Satisfy your celluloid addiction with the Cinema Junkie podcast, where you can mainline film 24/7. This film and entertainment series is run by KPBS Film Critic Beth Accomando.

So if you need a film fix, want to hear what filmmakers have to say about their work, or just want to know what's worth seeing this weekend, then you've come to the right place

Beth Accomando Arts & Culture Reporter

I cover arts and culture, from Comic-Con to opera, from pop entertainment to fine art, from zombies to Shakespeare. I am interested in going behind the scenes to explore the creative process; seeing how pop culture reflects social issues; and providing a context for art and entertainment.

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Pop Culture, Neuroscience, And COVID-19 - KPBS

Neuroscience

Cognition Therapeutics Announces Change in Leadership – BioSpace

NEW YORK, March 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Cognition Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the protection and restoration of synaptic function in Alzheimers disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders, today announced that Kenneth I. Moch has stepped down as president and chief executive officer to assume an advisory role. Lisa Ricciardi has transitioned from her position on the Cognition Board of Directors to become acting chief executive officer. Mr. Moch will continue to support the company as an advisor and consultant for at least the next year.

Throughout his tenure, Ken made significant progress repositioning Cognition in the very competitive and challenging Alzheimers disease space and expanding the management team to support the progress of CT1812, our lead candidate for Alzheimers disease, stated Ms. Ricciardi. As a Board member, I supported Mr. Mochs efforts and as acting CEO Ill remain committed to these endeavors. Our goal is to continue to advance the Companys pipeline of neurological disease candidates while broadening our financial prospects. Mr. Mochs counsel and the dedication of the Cognition leadership team will be crucial as we continue to pursue this mission.

It has been an honor to work with the Cognition team to address the societal tsunami of Alzheimer's disease and to help patients in need, stated Mr. Moch. I look forward to continuing to support the Company and its exciting science as CT1812 progresses towards its key clinical endpoints during 2020 and beyond.

Robert Gailus, Board chairman added, Ms. Ricciardi has substantial experience consulting with and leading biotechnology companies in all stages of development. During her career she has leveraged her networks on Wall Street and in the biopharmaceutical industry to negotiate impactful financial and business development transactions. As a Board member, Ms. Ricciardi has been deeply involved in the evolution of Cognitions business strategy. Her continued commitment and leadership in this time of transition will be invaluable.

Ms. Ricciardi has broad experience in leadership roles at start-ups and established biopharmaceutical firms. Before her appointment as acting CEO, Ms. Ricciardi served as an advisor at M.M. Dillon, a boutique life-sciences investment bank, working on transactions with pharmaand biopharma companies. Earlier, she was CEO of Suono Bio, a biotech company founded on technology licensed from MIT, which she led through a Series A fundraising. During her career in senior corporate and business development positions at Foundation Medicine, Medco and Pfizer, she oversaw the $1.03 billion agreement between Foundation Medicine and Roche, the $29 billion acquisition of Medco by Express Scripts, and numerous small to multi-billion-dollar licensing and development deals for assets at both early and late stages of development. As an entrepreneur in residence at Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Ms. Ricciardi provided marketing and commercialization expertise to portfolio companies, and identified and evaluated potential investments.

About Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.

Cognition Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing small-molecule therapeutics that address the toxic oligomeric proteins that cause synapse degeneration and trigger neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimers disease.

Cognitions lead candidate, CT1812 (Elayta), is a novel first-in-class, orally available small molecule that has shown the potential in initial clinical studies to normalize protein trafficking and lipid metabolism pathways that are disrupted in Alzheimers disease and to allow the protection and restoration of synapses. CT1812 is currently being tested for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimers disease in four Phase 2 clinical studies: SPARC (Synaptic Protection for Alzheimers Restoration of Cognition); SNAP (AO Displacement from Synapses on Neurons in Alzheimers Patients); SHINE (Synaptic Health and Improvement of Neurological Function with Elayta) and SEQUEL (Study of EEG Quantification with Elayta). These studies are supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging of the NIH. CT1812 has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. FDA.

The Company maintains corporate and clinical operations in New York, NY and its laboratory and research facilities in Pittsburgh, PA.

CT1812 and Cognitions other pipeline candidates were identified using the companys disease-relevant screening and novel chemistry platforms. Additional information about Cognition and its product candidates may be found online at http://www.cogrx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the development and commercialization of Cognitions products, the potential benefits and attributes of such products, and Cognitions expectations regarding its prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. Cognition undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.

CT1812 (Elayta) is an investigational product and neither its use nor the tradename has been approved by the FDA.

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Cognition Therapeutics Announces Change in Leadership - BioSpace

Neuroscience

Intel + Cornell Pioneering Work in the Science of Smell – insideBIGDATA

Nature Machine Intelligence published a joint paper from researchers at Intel Labs and Cornell University demonstrating the ability of Intels neuromorphic test chip, Loihi, to learn and recognize 10 hazardous chemicals, even in the presence of significant noise and occlusion. The work demonstrates how neuromorphic computing could be used to detect smells that are precursors to explosives, narcotics and more.

Loihi learned each new odor from a single example without disrupting the previously learned smells, requiring up to 3000x fewer training samples per class compared to a deep learning solution and demonstrating superior recognition accuracy. The research shows how the self-learning, low-power, and brain-like properties of neuromorphic chips combined with algorithms derived from neuroscience could be the answer to creating electronic nose systems that recognize odors under real-world conditions more effectively than conventional solutions.

We are developing neural algorithms on Loihi that mimic what happens in your brain when you smell something, said Nabil Imam, senior research scientist in Intels Neuromorphic Computing Lab. This work is a prime example of contemporary research at the crossroads of neuroscience and artificial intelligence and demonstrates Loihis potential to provide important sensing capabilities that could benefit various industries.

Intel Labs is driving computer-science research that contributes to a third generation of AI. Key focus areas include neuromorphic computing, which is concerned with emulating the neural structure and operation of the human brain, as well as probabilistic computing, which createsalgorithmic approaches to dealing with the uncertainty, ambiguity, and contradiction in the natural world.

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Intel + Cornell Pioneering Work in the Science of Smell - insideBIGDATA

Neuroscience

How Neuroscientists Are Helping Brands Create More Effective Ads – Built In

If you see a close-up shot of hands in an advertisement and think, Hey, this company really gets me, youre not alone. And its not that youreobsessed with hands.

According to consumer neuroscience research conducted by Mindshare, a global media agency, close-ups of hands resonate with people on a subconscious level butthere is a limit to how close the camera can get.

We found that using close-up shots of hands is an incredibly powerful way to connect with viewers, but this effect backfires when hand images are too closely cropped to the point where they no longer connect to a body, said James Kelly, a data scientist and co-lead of the Mindshare NeuroLab. We call this the amputated limb effect.

The NeuroLab is Mindshares in-house consumer neuroscience research facility, located in the companys New York office. Consumer neuroscience, also known as neuromarketing, seeks to augment traditional market research studies with physiological and neural data. The goal is to see if a persons responses in a survey or focus group match up with the signals sent by their subconscious and body.

Consumer neuroscience is a relatively new field dating back to the mid-1990s, when Gerald Zaltman, a Harvard marketing professor, used images to access the subconscious thoughts consumers had about brands. In the early 2000s, neuroscientists in Texas recreated the Pepsi Challenge using a functional MRI, or fMRI, which scans how the brain responds to physical sensations, while California researchers used an fMRI scan to observe how the brain reacts when shown different movies.

A long list of companies offer neuromarketing services to brands, ranging from established market research giants like Nielsen, which formed its consumer neuroscience division in 2011, to startups like New York-based Spark Neuro, which launched in 2017 and has raised $13.5 million in funding.

Companies like Hulu, Paramount and Universal work with Spark Neuro to learn where people zone out during movie trailers and what types of ads generate the most emotional engagement. The startup tracks brain and sweat-gland activity, along with facial expressions and eye movement, and says its algorithms can crunch more than6,000 data points per second.

While Mindshare is a relative newcomer to consumer neuroscience the NeuroLab opened in the summer of 2019 the company said itsseeing early returns from its work. Kelly and Arafel Buzan, a neuroscientist and the labs other co-lead, spoke with Built In about the equipment the lab uses, the insights theyve uncovered and how the demand for consumer neuroscience is growing.

What technology does the NeuroLab use, and how exactly does brain and physiological data determine how a person feels about an ad?

Buzan: We aim to circumvent self-report bias and provide more accurate and lucid insights into how consumers engage with and think about brands. Electroencephalogram, or EEG caps, record second-by-second changes in electrical activity in various regions of the cortex.High-definition EEG data allows us to observe changes in emotional valence which indicates how much someone likes or dislikes something memory encoding, attention and cognitive load, while consumers engage with different media channels.

Biometrics, including galvanic skin response and heart-rate variability, are used to measure emotional intensity and arousal response elicited by specific features of a stimulus, such as an ad, a UX experience or packaging.

Kelly: Were very excited about a few upcoming projects that will allow us to tap into additional neuro tools specifically, eye tracking. The NeuroLab is in the process of partnering with Mindshares advanced analytics teams to link neuro data to other data streams, which could create more predictive models for sales projections.

How does the data gathered by your team make an impact on the ad campaigns Mindshares clients run?

Buzan: For one client, we measured eight audio ads, all in context and across multiple groups, to identify which words, voices, musical elements and emotions were driving attention and key brand emotions. Then, we created a neuro audio blueprint, which they are using to inform future creative. Weve worked with a number of our clients to build neuro-audio blueprints to craft attention-grabbing audio creative and track the impact of audio on brand perceptions.

In one study, we found that Gen Z responds neurologically the same to 15- and 30-second social media ads, whereas older generations respond better to longer ad spots.

In addition to learning that people like ads featuring close-ups of hands, what other insights have NeuroLab researchers uncovered?

Kelly: In one study, we found that Gen Z responds neurologically the same to 15- and 30-second social media ads, whereas older generations respond better to longer ad spots. In a recent study, we quantified the brand value of reaching the LGBTQ+ community in authentic media environments, and why LGBTQ+ publications and content are crucial spaces for brands to support.In another study, we found that a client needed to change their contextual targeting strategy by seeking a different type of consumer emotion in media buys.

James, as a data scientist, does working with neurological data present a unique challenge for you and your team?

Kelly: Computational neuroscience is a rapidly emerging field that requires a bottom-up comprehension of both neuroscience and data science to surmount. To address this, the NeuroLab has a suite of proprietary tools for collecting, analyzing and visualizing neurological data, and were developing more. From an agency perspective, were excited by the opportunity to integrate our data even further with existing information. We believe that over the next five years, diversity will outstand quantity in the data hierarchy. Were working on leveraging neurocognitive metrics to build upon data sourced from more traditional streams.

How do you think consumer neuroscience will evolve in the next five years?

Buzan: We expect brands toengage more heavily with scalable neuroscience solutions, such as implicit association testing, to more accurately understand the ability of their media and advertising to influence brand perceptions. By leaning into consumer neuroscience and understanding the consumer at the level of the subconscious, brands can create more impactful, relevant and authentic advertising with less overall spend waste.

From Neuromarketing to Conversational Audio Ads

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How Neuroscientists Are Helping Brands Create More Effective Ads - Built In

Neuroscience

New Research Shows That Human Working Memory can be Tweaked With Non-Invasive Magnetic Stimulation – Technology Networks

A group of scientists from the Research Center of Neurology and Skoltech showed that human working memory can be tweaked using non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the brain. Also, they discovered that the effect of magnetic stimulation weakens as the brain works on a cognitive task under stimulation. The results of their study were published in the journal Brain Sciences.

Working memory (WM) stores and processes the information we need for daily use. The WM mechanisms get activated when, for example, we memorize a phone number until we find a scrap of paper or a smartphone to write it down. WM disorders are a frequent occurrence in many nervous system diseases, whereas in healthy people, the WM capacity is associated with an individuals learning ability and general intelligence level.

The transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is regarded as one of the promising non-pharmacological WM enhancement methods leveraging the effect of the alternating magnetic field which painlessly penetrates through the scalp and skull bones, with an electric field forming in the cortex. As TMS can influence the mechanisms of neuroplasticity, it is used as a therapeutic method for various nervous system diseases. The TMS effects are known to depend both on the stimulation parameters and the brain activity during stimulation. Combining TMS with concurrent cognitive activity has evolved into a cognitive enhancement technique for patients with Alzheimers disease. However, data are still lacking on how exactly the brain activity influences the TMS efficiency.

The researchers compared the effects of TMS on WM when stimulation was applied with and without a cognitive load. The WM performance was evaluated before and after a 20-minute stimulation session. The stimulation area was selected based on the individual brain activation pattern which formed during a WM-engaging task. The results suggest that WM does not respond to any stimulation other than TMS with no cognitive load.

The results of our research lead us to conclude that cognitive activity can reduce rather than increase the TMS efficiency. This should be borne in mind when developing new stimulation protocols for cognitive enhancement in both healthy volunteers and patients suffering from various nervous system diseases, says Natalya Suponeva, Head of Department of Neurorehabilitation and Physiotherapy at the Research Center of Neurology and Associate Member of RAS.

Maxim Fedorov, Director of the Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE), is inspired by the research outcomes and the ensuing opportunities: The results attest to the efficiency of interdisciplinary research in biomedicine and cognitive sciences, benefiting from advanced data processing methods. We at CDISE have much interest in collaborating with the Research Center of Neurology and studying WM mechanisms for a number of reasons. First, this would be an exciting experience and a good opportunity to apply some of the findings in practice in the short term (better memory is what many of us need). Second, modern biomedical research tools open up broad horizons for data and AI scientists. Data are abundant but sometimes too noisy and the data samples are often heterogeneous. Generally speaking, we are faced with non-trivial tasks that prompt ideas for new research targets in our field. Third, many ideas in Big Data and AI, such as neural networks, were born out of research into the human higher nervous activity. And this is very interesting. Currently, we are busy working on many projects at the crossroads of neuroscience, simulation and Big Data. Personally, I believe that man is as boundless as the Universe, and we are just beginning to understand how interesting we are and how much potential we have. I am convinced that we have a lot of unexpected discoveries ahead of us. We strongly hope that our collaboration with the Research Center of Neurology will be a continued success.

Currently, the study is moving forward with a larger number of healthy volunteers in order to validate the recent findings and evaluate the long-term effect of TMS on WM performance.

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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New Research Shows That Human Working Memory can be Tweaked With Non-Invasive Magnetic Stimulation - Technology Networks

Neuroscience

Neuroscience News: Exploring the psychological impact of sheltering in place – Los Altos Town Crier

Residents of Santa Clara County have been ordered to shelter in place until at least April 7. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and social distancing is currently the most effective strategy to curtail the rampant spread of novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus testing has been slow, and there is limited accurate data on the true number of community cases in the U.S., with estimates in the tens to hundreds of thousands, doubling every five to seven days.

With recommendations to stay home and venture out only for essential supplies, telework in place and close K-12 schools and most colleges, the psychological impact of the curfew is a major concern. The current pandemic is triggering fear on a societal level.

Research published in Lancet last week by Dr. Samantha Brooks and her team highlights the psychological impact of quarantine measures and self-isolation on well-being. The psychological cost of quarantine measures includes confusion, anger, insomnia, anxiety, depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Fear of infection, inadequate information, lack of supplies, stigma, xenophobia and financial loss are strong contributing factors.

A history of mental health issues has emerged as a demographic risk factor likely to exacerbate the impact of the current war time social isolation measures. Appraisal of any physical symptoms during periods of quarantine presents real anxiety and fear associated with being infected or having infected others, especially vulnerable loved ones. The reduced social and physical contact and the absence of typical routine during the shelter-in-place order lead to boredom and a sense of isolation. In the general population, health-care workers report the greatest level of psychological impairment from dealing with pandemics.

This is not the first time we have heard of quarantine measures to prevent the spread of a potentially deadly virus. Canada and China implemented similar quarantine measures during the SARS outbreak in 2003, and West African countries in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak. The psychological impact of those shelter-in-place measures was profound, including increased suicide rates associated with efforts to minimize the spread of the viruses.

Parents with school-age children may already be experiencing the frustration of trying to work remotely and home school their kids. Gov. Gavin Newsom shocked parents and students last week when he announced he does not expect schools and colleges to reopen before the end of this school year.

The long-term impact of the stress experienced by families and the 500,000 school-age children in Santa Clara County particularly lower-income families and those working in the service industry, unable to work because they must care for children at home or experiencing loss of jobs is uncertain.

Rita Hitching is a local researcher and teacher who writes on teen brain development. She aims to help teens understand themselves by using the latest neuroscience data to explain how the teen body and brain develop and publishes the explanations on her website, teenbrain.info.

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Neuroscience News: Exploring the psychological impact of sheltering in place - Los Altos Town Crier

Neuroscience

The fifth secret of accelerated learning: how the brain works to maximise retention – TrainingZone.co.uk

In this article Ill look at how we can use the latest neuroscience to maximise the learning retention. Last time we looked at the physical, emotional and social environments and how they can help to accelerate learning. In that article I mentioned some of the latest thinking about social learning and safety, as well as the part dopamine plays in keeping participants attention. These cross over into this fifth secret about the brain and knowing how it works in order to learn in the best possible way.

Let me say from the outset that I am not a neuroscientist and do not wish to take away from some of the many experts out there in this field. My fascination has never been in the brain and naming all the parts, but in the practical application of the latest neuroscience to help us in the field of learning and development.

Therefore, this article will help you to take away a handful of nuggets from the latest neuroscience, while offering some practical applications that you can implement immediately to maximise the retention of learning.

We already know that dopamine plays a big part in engaging people, whether in a live learning situation or virtually. Dopamine activates your reward systems. It controls arousal levels in the brain.

So here are some ways in which we can arouse curiosity and increase those dopamine levels in the brain:

On the use of emotion in learning, Nick Shackleton-Jones (in his book, How to Learn) says, It makes perfect sense for memory to work in this way: your memory needs to be efficient so it only stores the stuff that matters but which stuff matters? Answer: the stuff that has an emotional impact.

If this is true, then the connection with the content and the participants in learning has to be a strong one. They have to be brought in to the learning and its application in order for them to be engaged as fully as possible. Here are some suggestions for what you might do practically:

There used to be a myth that brains could not change as you got older, but Eleanor Maguire conducted research that uncovered that our brains are not fixed as we had previously thought. Her study on taxi drivers in fact showed the opposite.

This does not help however, when you have participants who think that they are bad at learning. This limiting belief soon becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. To remove this barrier, you might:

Until I read Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, I thought that knowledge testing was just a way for me as a trainer or facilitator to find out whether participants had learned what they were supposed to learn. After reading this book, it became clear that testing, or retrieval practice as it is known, is a key part of the learning process.

Here are some ways that you can make it a fun and engaging part of the learning process:

Is guessing a valid form of learning? Can it really make a difference to how much you retain? Well according to Stella Collins: it seems, perhaps counter-intuitively, that we learn better after guessing, even if we have guessed a wrong answer first.

The basic idea is that this activation (the guessing) affords a richer encoding of the information, she explains.

You can incorporate a guessing element to any learning by:

Were now at the end of my five secrets of accelerated learning. If youd like to catch up on the rest of these secrets you can visit the content series page here. I welcome any questions and feedback you might have in the comments below.

Link:
The fifth secret of accelerated learning: how the brain works to maximise retention - TrainingZone.co.uk

Neuroscience

Neuroscience Market Outlook 2020 – Industry Analysis, Growth And Forecast To 2026 | GE Healthcare, NeuroNexus, Siemens Healthineers, Mightex…

Neuroscience Market Outlook 2020 - Industry Analysis, Growth And Forecast To 2026 | GE Healthcare, NeuroNexus, Siemens Healthineers, Mightex Bioscience.  New Day Live

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Neuroscience Market Outlook 2020 - Industry Analysis, Growth And Forecast To 2026 | GE Healthcare, NeuroNexus, Siemens Healthineers, Mightex...