When Pregnancy Becomes an Inclusion Criterion in Neuroscience Research.

This Viewpoint discusses the inclusion of pregnant patients in clinical trials for antiseizure medication.

Functional genomics and systems biology in human neuroscience.

Neuroscience research has entered a phase of key discoveries in the realm of neurogenomics owing to strong financial and intellectual support for resource building and tool development. The previous challenge of tissue heterogeneity has been met with the application of techniques that can profile individual cells at scale. Moreover, the ability to perturb genes, gene regulatory elements and neuronal activity in a cell-type-specific manner has been integrated with gene expression studies to uncover the functional underpinnings of the genome at a systems level. Although these insights have necessarily been grounded in model systems, we now have the opportunity to apply these approaches in humans and in human tissue, thanks to advances in human genetics, brain imaging and tissue collection. We acknowledge that there will probably always be limits to the extent to which we can apply the genomic tools developed in model systems to human neuroscience; however, as we describe in this Perspective, the neuroscience field is now primed with an optimal foundation for tackling this ambitious challenge. The application of systems-level network analyses to these datasets will facilitate a deeper appreciation of human neurogenomics that cannot otherwise be achieved from directly observable phenomena.

Functional neuroimaging as a catalyst for integrated neuroscience.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables non-invasive access to the awake, behaving human brain. By tracking whole-brain signals across a diverse range of cognitive and behavioural states or mapping differences associated with specific traits or clinical conditions, fMRI has advanced our understanding of brain function and its links to both normal and atypical behaviour. Despite this headway, progress in human cognitive neuroscience that uses fMRI has been relatively isolated from rapid advances in other subdomains of neuroscience, which themselves are also somewhat siloed from one another. In this Perspective, we argue that fMRI is well-placed to integrate the diverse subfields of systems, cognitive, computational and clinical neuroscience. We first summarize the strengths and weaknesses of fMRI as an imaging tool, then highlight examples of studies that have successfully used fMRI in each subdomain of neuroscience. We then provide a roadmap for the future advances that will be needed to realize this integrative vision. In this way, we hope to demonstrate how fMRI can help usher in a new era of interdisciplinary coherence in neuroscience.

A virtuous cycle between invertebrate and robotics research: perspective on a decade of Living Machines research.

Many invertebrates are ideal model systems on which to base robot design principles due to their success in solving seemingly complex tasks across domains while possessing smaller nervous systems than vertebrates. Three areas are particularly relevant for robot designers: Research on flying and crawling invertebrates has inspired new materials and geometries from which robot bodies (their morphologies) can be constructed, enabling a new generation of softer, smaller, and lighter robots. Research on walking insects has informed the design of new systems for controlling robot bodies (their motion control) and adapting their motion to their environment without costly computational methods. And research combining wet and computational neuroscience with robotic validation methods has revealed the structure and function of core circuits in the insect brain responsible for the navigation and swarming capabilities (their mental faculties) displayed by foraging insects. The last decade has seen significant progress in the application of principles extracted from invertebrates, as well as the application of biomimetic robots to model and better understand how animals function. This Perspectives paper on the past 10 years of the Living Machines conference outlines some of the most exciting recent advances in each of these fields before outlining lessons gleaned and the outlook for the next decade of invertebrate robotic research.

Invasive Computational Psychiatry.

Computational psychiatry, a relatively new yet prolific field that aims to understand psychiatric disorders with formal theories about the brain, has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Despite initial excitement, actual progress made by computational psychiatry seems stagnant. Meanwhile, understanding of the human brain has benefited tremendously from recent progress in intracranial neuroscience. Specifically, invasive techniques such as stereotactic electroencephalography, electrocorticography, and deep brain stimulation have provided a unique opportunity to precisely measure and causally modulate neurophysiological activity in the living human brain. In this review, we summarize progress and drawbacks in both computational psychiatry and invasive electrophysiology and propose that their combination presents a highly promising new direction-invasive computational psychiatry. The value of this approach is at least twofold. First, it advances our mechanistic understanding of the neural computations of mental states by providing a spatiotemporally precise depiction of neural activity that is traditionally unattainable using noninvasive techniques with human subjects. Second, it offers a direct and immediate way to modulate brain states through stimulation of algorithmically defined neural regions and circuits (i.e., algorithmic targeting), thus providing both causal and therapeutic insights. We then present depression as a use case where the combination of computational and invasive approaches has already shown initial success. We conclude by outlining future directions as a road map for this exciting new field as well as presenting cautions about issues such as ethical concerns and generalizability of findings.

Neuroderechos: Ser o no ser. Una propuesta de adscripción sistemática en el ordenamiento jurídico español / Neurorights: To be or not to be. A proposal for systematic ascription to the Spanish legal system

Nuestro cerebro es lo que nos define. Estamos pasando de lasmuy desarrolladas tecnologías para la información y la comunicación (conocidas porsu acrónimo TIC) a las nuevas tecnologías sobre la información y para la comunicacióncon el cerebro. Estos avances neurocientíficos se traducen en notables mejoras parala salud de las personas, pero también en bienes de consumo. Dichas tecnologíascombinadas con la Inteligencia Artificial (IA), podrían usarse para descifrar y manipularprocesos mentales y para aumentar las capacidades cognitivas de las personasconectándolas a las interfaces cerebro-computadora, alterando lo que significaser humano. En lo que sigue, expondremos el estado actual de la neurociencia, suimpacto jurídico, el examen de las escasas iniciativas legislativas sobre el particularcon especial estudio de la propuesta de reforma constitucional chilena de 2020,concluyendo si se hace necesario realizar cambios o adaptar las reglas existentes a lassituaciones nuevas. Se trata en definitiva de modular dogmáticamente la respuesta jurídica ante el imparable avance de la neurociencia y cuestionarse si articular unanueva categoría de derechos como los denominados neuroderechos puede ser o no ser la mejor solución. (AU)

Our brain is what defines us. We are moving from highly developed informationand communication technologies (known by its acronym ICT) to new informationand communication technologies with the brain. These neuroscientific advancestranslate into remarkable improvements for people’s health, but also consumergoods. Such technologies, combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI), could beused to decipher and manipulate mental processes and to increase people’scognitive abilities by connecting them to brain-computer interfaces, alteringwhat it means to be human. In what follows, we will present the current state ofneuroscience, its legal impact, the examination of the few legislative initiativeson the subject with special study of the Chilean constitutional reform proposal of2020, concluding if it is necessary to make changes or adapt the existing rules tonew situations. Ultimately, it is about dogmatically modulating the legal responseto the unstoppable advance of neuroscience and questioning whether articulatinga new category of rights such as the so-called neuro-rights may or may not be the best solution. (AU)

Neuroética: comienza el reinado de las neurociencias en la fundamentación de la ética / Neuroethics: the reign of neuroscience begins in the foundation of the ethics / Neuroética: começa o reinado das neurociências na fundamentação da ética

Resumen: 1] La neurociencia de la ética constituye un progreso al aplicar la ciencia empírica en la investigación del fenómeno moral. 2] Resaltar la importancia de afectos y sentimientos representa una compensación a la excesiva importancia dada a la razón en la formación de los juicios morales. 3] Existen graves dificultades metodológicas al no precisar los conceptos de "intuición", "afectos", "deber" y especialmente qué se entiende por "ética". 4] Pero la investigación científica aprehende al hombre como una "entidad" en sí (presente) y no como una "existencia" (futuro), vale decir, ser-en-el-mundo. 5] En lugar de "tener" una moral el ser humano "es" moral y, como tal, es un proyecto lanzado hacia su más auténtica posibilidad que consiste en apropiarse de su ser-para-la-muerte.

Abstract: 1] The Neuroscience of Ethics constitutes a progress when applying empirical science in the investigation of the moral phenomenon. 2] Emphasizing the importance of affects and feelings represents a compensation for the excessive importance given to reason in the formation of moral judgments. 3] There are serious methodological difficulties by not specifying the concepts of intuition, affections, duty and especially what is understood by ethics. 4] But scientific research apprehends man as an "entity" in himself (present) and not as an "existence" (future), that is, being-in-the-world. 5] Instead of "having" a moral, the human being "is" moral and as such is a project thrown towards its most authentic possibility that consists of appropriating its being-for-death.

Resumo: 1] A neurociência da ética constitui um progresso ao aplicar a ciência empírica na investigação do fenômeno moral. 2] Ressaltar a importância de afetos e sentimentos representa uma compensação à excessiva importância dada à razão na formação dos juízos morais. 3] Existem graves dificuldades metodológicas ao não precisar os conceitos de "intuição", "afetos", "dever" e especialmente o que se entende por "ética". 4] Porém a investigação científica apreende o homem como uma "entidade" em si (presente) e não como una "existência" (futuro), vale dizer, ser-no-mundo. 5] Em lugar de "ter" uma moral o ser humano "é" moral e, como tal, é um projeto lançado à sua mais autêntica possibilidade, que consiste em apropriar-se de seu ser-para-a-morte.

China's big brain project is finally gathering steam.

The $746 million program builds on the country's strengths in neuroscience-and its openness to primate research.

Towards real-world neuroscience using mobile EEG and augmented reality.

Our visual environment impacts multiple aspects of cognition including perception, attention and memory, yet most studies traditionally remove or control the external environment. As a result, we have a limited understanding of neurocognitive processes beyond the controlled lab environment. Here, we aim to study neural processes in real-world environments, while also maintaining a degree of control over perception. To achieve this, we combined mobile EEG (mEEG) and augmented reality (AR), which allows us to place virtual objects into the real world. We validated this AR and mEEG approach using a well-characterised cognitive response-the face inversion effect. Participants viewed upright and inverted faces in three EEG tasks (1) a lab-based computer task, (2) walking through an indoor environment while seeing face photographs, and (3) walking through an indoor environment while seeing virtual faces. We find greater low frequency EEG activity for inverted compared to upright faces in all experimental tasks, demonstrating that cognitively relevant signals can be extracted from mEEG and AR paradigms. This was established in both an epoch-based analysis aligned to face events, and a GLM-based approach that incorporates continuous EEG signals and face perception states. Together, this research helps pave the way to exploring neurocognitive processes in real-world environments while maintaining experimental control using AR.

Análisis de texturas homogéneas para la estimación volumétrica de la materia cerebral por tomografía computarizada / Analysis of Homogeneous Textures for the VolumetricEstimation of Brain Matter by Computed Tomography

Las aplicaciones de análisis de texturas y su extracción de características son consideradas tendencias de investigación en las neurociencias. La textura como método de análisis de imágenes ha mostrado resultados prometedores en la detección de lesiones visibles y no visibles, y en estudios de tomografía computarizada (TC) son escasos. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo determinar la aplicabilidad del procesamiento automático de índices de texturas homogéneas en la estimación volumétrica de la sustancia gris cerebral en imágenes de TC craneal. Para ello se utilizaron imágenes artificiales con regiones predefinidas y la selección de imágenes de TC en los pacientes con indicaciones previas de TC de cráneo. Dos pasos fundamentales son conducidos para la implementación de este enfoque. Como resultado se obtuvo un método automático de reconocimiento de patrones sin ventanas por medio de la extracción de características de textura homogéneas a través de la matriz de co-ocurrencia(AU)

Texture analysis applications and their extraction of features are considered research trends in neuroscience. Texture as a method of image analysis has shown promising results in the detection of visible and non-visible lesions, and in computed tomography (CT) studies they are scarce. The present research aims to determine the applicability of the automatic processing of homogeneous texture indices in the volumetric estimation of brain gray matter in cranial CT images. For this, artificial images with predefined regions and the selection of CT images were used in patients with previous indications for CT of the skull. Two fundamental steps are taken for the implementation of this approach. As a result, an automatic windowless pattern recognition method was obtained by means of the extraction of homogeneous texture characteristics through the co-occurrence matrix(AU)

Indira M. Raman.

Indira Raman reflects on what science has offered through the pandemic and social upheaval of last year. In this Neuron Q&A, she highlights how the scientific method can enrich all aspects of our lives and inform our worldview.

Bart De Strooper.

In an interview with Neuron, Bart De Strooper charts how support from unconventional leaders has informed his inclusive mentorship style. He discusses the need for science literacy and advocacy to combat existential crises, and his optimism around the ongoing revolution in dementia research.