Jul 19, 2013

Lifting mood by brain ultrasound

Researchers from the University of Arizona have found that applying ultrasound waves to specific areas of the brain appear to alter patients' moods. In their experiment they generated sound waves of 2 megahertz and passed them through patients' skulls for 30 seconds. The treatment caused improvements in mood like feeling lighter, happier and more attentive for up to 40 minutes. Researchers claim that this finding can lead to new treatments for psychological and psychiatric disorders. They are planning to develop a wearable machine for such purposes.

Do you like the idea of having a tool on your head that will lift your mood whenever you switch it on? It is definitely outrageous that the feeling that we chase in our whole life can be generated by pushing a button. We shall hope that this tool will be used only as a therapeutic tool and will never hit the commercial market.

Read more about the research here.

1 comment:

  1. I don't really like the idea of such machines that influence our brains. Maybe because of my ignorance, or just my paranoia, but such equipment may lead to addiction or even distort one's personality in case of a malfunction or overuse or cause some side effects since we still know so little about our brains. Ok, I know it is planned only for medical treatments and as I said, I may be paranoid, but still. Is science developed enough for this? And ready to face the consequences?

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